


Choices We Make

by hunter_king



Series: Supernatural - J2 [11]
Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Abuse, Alternate Universe, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Barebacking, Bottom Jared Padalecki, M/M, Rimming, Schmoop, Swearing, Top Jensen Ackles, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-25
Updated: 2018-11-24
Packaged: 2019-08-29 00:14:11
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 31,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16733349
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hunter_king/pseuds/hunter_king
Summary: Jared is in a desperate situation. He lives in a cramped, filthy room that he rents for a ridiculous amount of money. He works long shifts at his very badly paid job as a waiter at a snobby hotel for rich jerks who delight in feeling him up. Not to mention his landlord keeps trying to bribe Jared to sleep with him, and threatening to kick him out if he doesn’t. One evening Jared is waiting when a gorgeous guy, Jensen, completely drunk, moans about how his boyfriend dumped him when Jensen proposed to live with him in a house he designed. Jensen drunkenly comes onto Jared, but Jared rejects him. When he gets home, his landlord is waiting, and this time isn’t going to take no for an answer and tries to rape Jared. Jared manages to fight the guy off and grabs his stuff, fleeing. He has no where to go and thinks he’ll have to whore himself, but he suddenly remembers the house the drunken guy describes – he even drew a detailed picture on a napkin putting it in Jared’s pocket, and told him if he ever wanted to see it, he’d give Jared a personal tour before he passed out. Jared knows it’s crazy but he has no one and no where else to go.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt Fill for Imogen_lily  
> Beta'd by gusx217 and rednikjow

Jared frowned as he scanned the bar, counting the regulars in his head so he knew who he had to watch out for during the rest of his shift. Sure, the regulars always tipped pretty well, but Jared just wasn’t in the mood to be felt up all night, in addition to the previously stated clause, object or fact, he sure as hell didn’t want to be hit on left and right – he got enough of that from his landlord. Of course, it didn’t help that his boss insisted he dress in tight clothing, which showed off his body in order to attract more customers. It resulted, unsurprisingly, in Jared regularly getting felt up or sometimes even mistaken for a prostitute and offered money for sexual favours. If people wondered why, when he wasn’t at work, he would wear baggy, shapeless clothing; it was because of this place.

He was nearing the end of his fifth twelve-hour shift this week and he had finally managed to talk his boss into giving him a couple of days off. Sure, Jared had no idea what he was going to do for those couple of days, but he didn’t care; he needed a break. Jared was basically running on fumes here and he knew there was no way he could do this for another night. His back was bothering him after the long hours putting a strain on it and his Motrin just wasn’t doing the trick anymore. 

When he was fourteen he’d been playing in a tree with his older brother. The branch had snapped and he’d fallen heavily to the ground. His spinal cord had been injured severely, but his parents had refused to pay for the surgery to get him properly treated and his back had never properly healed. Now he dealt with the pain as best as he could, but Jared wasn’t rich by any means and he didn’t have the money to pay for proper pain killers. Motrin had done the trick for a while, but the pain was getting worse because of the strain he had to put on his body to make ends meet and his back was paying the price.

Sighing softly, Jared headed back to the bar where he noticed a new face. It didn’t take Jared long to realize that this must have been the man’s second stop at least because he was already stone drunk Unfortunately his boss would scream at him if Jared lost him the customer, so he gritted his teeth and walked over to serve him. “Hi, Sir, what can I get for you?” Jared asked, smiling politely at the other man. He noticed that the man seemed down and although he really didn’t want to engage the man in conversation, he seemed pretty harmless. “You don’t look too well. Anything you want to talk about?”

Bright, slightly unfocused eyes the color of moss met Jared’s as the man frowned softly. “My boyfriend dumped me when I proposed to him,” he explained, giving his head a small shake. “I mean, he just…dumped me. I even had the wedding present picked out. It was the house out on Winchester Avenue – the house with the glass walls. I designed that for us to live in, and he broke it off.” Sighing, he pressed his forehead against the bar, giving it a small shake before he looked up at Jared. “I’ll have a whiskey, double, neat.”

Personally, Jared thought this man should be drinking coffee instead of whiskey, but he got him his drink, leaning forwards over the bar so he could continue the conversation. “I’m sorry to hear that. I know how hard it can be to lose someone you care about,” he apologized, his mind straying for a few moments into memories of his own loss a few years ago. “Um…I’m Jared. If you need anything, just call for me.”

The man introduced himself as Jensen and Jared headed off to fill some orders for different patrons before he was beckoned back. Jared figured that the man wanted another refill, but instead Jensen just wanted to get out of there. “Remember when you asked me what you could get for me?” Jensen asked, smirking when Jared nodded. “Well, are you on the menu?” he asked, his hand moving to rest over Jared’s. “Because if you are I’ll take one to go. You’re just so fucking sexy, Jay.” Pressing his thumb against Jared’s bottom lip and pulling down a bit to reveal Jared’s teeth, Jensen mumbled, “I can think of a thousand things I want to do to you.” 

Jared’s lips turned down slightly at the corners as he gave his head a small shake, effectively shaking Jensen’s hand away from him. “I…um…I don’t…I’m working,” Jared stuttered, shocked that Jensen was being so forward. He was used to getting hit on like this, but for some reason he’d thought Jensen would be different. But the man had just broken up with his boyfriend and he was drunk as a dog; Jared should have known he would come on to him just like the others.

“Well, that’s too bad,” Jensen slurred, reaching for a napkin that he’d drawn on while Jared hadn’t been paying attention to him. Slipping the napkin into Jared’s pocket, Jensen whispered in the younger man’s ear, “If you change your mind here’s a picture of it and you already know where it’s located. Come find me and I’ll give you a _personal_ tour.”

Before Jared could say anything else, Jensen slumped over on the bar, the younger man frowning softly as he stared at the unconscious man. It wasn’t unusual for people to pass out from drinking too much, but the note Jensen shoved into Jared’s pocket had him a little confused. Damn, Jensen was going to be pretty embarrassed in the morning if he remembered any of this, Jared mused. After all, he could tell that the man wasn’t one of the regulars here and he had a feeling Jensen didn’t often get drunk unless he wanted to forget something. He was just glad Jensen hadn’t come on stronger – not like some of the others before him. 

He told his boss that one of the customers had passed out on the bar and finished up his shift. Mark, his boss, had made sure that Jensen got a room on the first floor of the hotel the bar was located in and one of the bell hops got Jensen safely to his room. Now Jared was on his way home so he could get some sleep. Hell, he was so tired and in so much pain that he could easily just sleep away his few days off work, but he knew that couldn’t be allowed to happen; he had work that needed to be done around his apartment. 

Jared was in the process of trying to locate his brother and sister who he had left behind at the age of fourteen when he ran away from his abusive parents. He had been very close to his siblings, but now he had no idea where they were. For a while he’d kept track of his parents, but after a few years he just stopped caring about where they were. As far as he was concerned they were dead to him. Unfortunately, that meant he didn’t know where his siblings were either. The last he heard Megan had been shipped off to a foster home and Jeff had been going to college somewhere out of state.

That had been at least three years ago and Jared needed to get updated. He’d been spending every free minute trying to find out where Jeff was, but so far he’d had no luck. A few months back he’d found Megan, but child services wouldn’t hand her over to him because he lived in a crappy little apartment that he could barely afford. They claimed he wasn’t a fit guardian and told him to save up a little more money, get a job with better income, and a more stable living environment and then they would discuss it further. But Megan was already seventeen, so Jared wasn’t sure he would be able to make that happen before she was out of the system.

On top of that, who knew what Megan was planning on doing once she was out of foster care? Jared had no idea if she would want to live with him after he’d abandoned them. But that was the only thing he could think of to do at the time; he just hoped that Megan would understand that. If she didn’t and she wanted nothing to do with Jared, it would break his heart, but he would honor her wishes.

As soon as Jared walked through the door leading to his apartment he knew it was going to be a rough night. His landlord was always hitting on him and offering to forget about the rent if Jared slept with him. Sure, sometimes Jared was late, but he always paid his rent; there was no way he was going to whore himself out like that. He’d sooner live on the streets or in his old beat up car than have sex with his landlord for this dingy little apartment. So, with his head held high, Jared started walking towards the stairs – the elevator was broken down, of course – hoping that his landlord would just leave him the hell alone.

Unfortunately, Jared had the worst luck known to man, so his landlord called after him, causing Jared to stop in his tracks; after all, he didn’t want to be rude. “Jared, your rent was due yesterday,” Frederic explained, a small frown on his lips as he took in Jared’s appearance. He never understood how the kid could look both exhausted and hot as hell at the same time. It was damn near supernatural.

“I-I know,” Jared assured the older man, giving a small, sad smile. “I’m sorry. It’s just…I don’t get my paycheck until the end of the week, so I won’t have the money until then.” He’d spent nearly all of his last pay check on pain killers that would actually work on his back so he really didn’t have any money now, otherwise he would have given it to Frederic just to get him off his back.

Frederic wasn’t really listening to Jared past the fact that he didn’t have the money right now, instead sizing the younger man up with his eyes. God, Jared was hot; there were so many things Frederic could think of that he wanted to do to that tight, hot little body of Jared’s. “You know Jared, I’ll forget all about this rent thing if you give me a little something on the side. I’ll just eat the money that I lose and we can call it even.”

Jared’ forehead wrinkled when he realized that Frederic was suggesting that he have sex with him. Jared was really getting tired of this – there were only so many ways he could tell the man that he wasn’t interested. “Um…n-no, Frederic, I’ll pay you,” Jared assured him, trying to get away from his landlord, though Frederic just kept following him with each step back Jared took. When the man grabbed his arm and stopped Jared from moving Jared gasped in shock, trying to pull his arm back.

Jared knew well enough that Frederic was a pervert- he’d tried multiple times to get into Jared’s pants, but he had never been this forceful. Never before had Frederic actually reached out and put his hands on Jared. This was something new and Jared didn’t like it because he had trouble reading Frederic – he had no idea how far this man was willing to go. “What are you doing, Frederic?” Jared asked, trying to yank his arm away again, only to have Frederic tighten his grip and press his body against Jared’s. “Stop it, dammit! Let me go!”

Anger flashed over Frederic’s features as Jared started struggling, the older man shaking his head as his grip tightened even more. “You’re such a fucking tease, Jared,” Frederic accused, shoving Jared against the wall so he could press against him more roughly. “You think I don’t notice the way you come in here dressed like that? I mean, you’re practically begging me to take you back to my place and fuck you silly and then when I come on to you, I get repeatedly rejected!” Cutting Jared off as he tried to explain his outfit Frederic hissed, “Well, I’m not taking this shit anymore. You can keep playing hard to get all you want but I know what you really mean when you say no, Jared.”

Without another word, Frederic tried to pop the button on Jared’s jeans, the younger man struggling with everything he had. Finally, Jared managed to get his knee up; his kneecap hit solidly with Frederic’s hard dick, giving Jared the escape that he needed. He didn’t look back either. As soon as he was free, Jared bolted, running up the stairs and slamming his door closed, bolting it as well as tossing the lock into place. Frederic had a key, sure, but he couldn’t get through the chain that Jared had also slid into place. After what had just happened in the hallway he wasn’t going to take any chances.

This was the last straw – Jared couldn’t stay here anymore. He just didn’t feel safe. Well, not that he’d felt too safe before this, but now it was just unbearable. Who was to say that Frederic wasn’t going to come back while Jared was sleeping and try something? Or that he wasn’t going to do something to the apartment when Jared was out and blame him? There were too many things that could happen now and although Jared had no idea where he was going to run, he knew that he couldn’t stay here. 

Panic smacked him hard in the gut when he realized that he would probably have to whore himself out just to get a good night’s sleep somewhere, the young man shivering slightly. Some of his regulars seemed like nice enough guys and they were definitely interested – but that wasn’t who Jared was. He couldn’t see himself having sex for money and a warm bed to sleep in. His car would have to do and he’d have to hope that he wasn’t caught by a police officer or something. That was the only option he could see as he packed up all of his belongings and headed for the door again. He hoped Frederic was still recovering from the knee he’d gotten for his attempted rape, even if Jared didn’t think he was stupid enough to try anything again so soon.

Luckily, when Jared got to the lobby Frederic was nowhere to be found, so Jared was able to slip out of the building unnoticed. He could send Frederic the rent when he had it. Now he just had to get to his car without incident and figure out his next move. Once inside the car, Jared rested his head on the steering wheel, letting out a small sigh as his eyes slipped closed. Honestly, this whole thing was so messed up. There was no way Jared was going to be able to find another apartment building that would charge him rent that he could afford. Hell, he couldn’t even afford living at Frederic’s place, but at least he had been managing for the most part. Now he was definitely screwed. 

Before Jared could really break down he remembered the man from the hotel that had just broken up with his boyfriend – Jensen. Jared dug hurriedly around in his pockets for the picture of the house he had drawn for him, remembering that it was located on Winchester Avenue. It would be kind of a long drive but Jared was sure that he could make it there. No one else was living in the house, so Jared didn’t see a problem with staying there for a little while – just until he managed to get back on his feet. It wasn’t like he was going to be staying there forever, right? 

Mind made up, Jared shoved his car into drive and started towards the glass house Jensen had described. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that this was wrong, but right now this was the only option that he could see. He had nowhere else to go and it wasn’t like Jensen was using it now that his boyfriend broke up with him. And besides, Jensen had said that if Jared ever changed his mind he would give him the personal tour. That was kind of an invitation to go over – Jared would take it as one, anyway.

The drive took about two hours, but when Jared finally arrived he parked his car in the spacious garage, not wanting to let anyone know he was there. If people didn’t know he was here it would be better for him. He had the next couple of days off work so he didn’t need his car for anything. Once he made his way into the house Jared realized two things: one, it was beautiful and very large and two, it was unfurnished and deserted. This was going to work well. It didn’t take him long to find a bedroom, the young man pulling down the mattress that was leaning against the wall so he didn’t have to sleep on the floor. He was exhausted after all – not an idiot. Even he knew that hardwood floors would kill his back and he really didn’t want to deal with that pain in the morning.

Sighing, he scooted around on the mattress a bit before he managed to get comfortable, using one of his hoodies as a pillow. Tomorrow he’d deal with everything that was going wrong in his life right now. At this moment though, he just wanted to get some much needed sleep and he was vowing to himself to be out of the large house before anyone found out he wasn’t technically supposed to be in it. He didn’t want to cause more problems for himself.

**~~**

_ One Week Later _

Unfortunately, Jared didn’t realize that the people in this neighborhood were a tight-knit family and there was no escaping them. Actually, in his opinion he was doing a pretty good job of it for the first week. No one really bothered him, but he knew they were all staring at him and talking about him amongst themselves. Every time he left the house he could see their eyes on him – it was uncomfortable and Jared knew that it wasn’t going to get any better until he was gone. Sadly, looking for a new place to stay was a lot harder than it seemed and Jared was having no luck on that front. Still, he carried on and he was confident that he’d find a place.

It wasn’t until he had been there for about a week and a half that people started to speak to him. Honestly, he wished that they could have just left him alone. They were all asking questions that Jared couldn’t answer and he just wanted it to stop. “So, Jared, how do you know Jensen?” Sophia asked one day while Jared was working out in the yard. She had brought him some lemonade to quench his thirst after he’d been mowing the lawn and now she was asking questions.

After having been getting bombarded with questions for the last few days, Jared was out of things to say. Finally, he blurted out, “Jensen’s my husband. I’m taking care of our place while he’s away on business. You know, getting it ready for us to move in for when he comes back.” Shit! It was just like word vomit; Jared hadn’t meant to say it, but it just came out. Worse – now that it was out, there was no taking it back – he could tell that from the look on Sophia’s face.

“O-Oh,” Sophia answered, clearly shocked. “I didn’t even know Jensen was engaged.”

Smiling at the woman, Jared merely shrugged, not knowing what else to say. He could see that she was waiting for an explanation, so the word vomit just started again. “Yeah, we had kind of a quick engagement. He just…came up to me one night while I was working and we kind of hit it off. For the next few days, he and I just kind of hung out and before we even knew it, we were at the alter saying ‘I do.’” Oh God, he was so screwed.

Again, Sophia really didn’t know how to answer, so she merely smiled at him. “Well, that’s…great, Jared,” she smiled, giving a small nod. “I have to head off to work right now, but I’ll talk to you later, all right?” With that Sophia headed towards her own car, trying to process everything that she had just been told. She and Jensen were pretty close friends so she couldn’t believe that he hadn’t told her about this, but maybe her friend was trying to keep it a secret so he could tell everyone at the same time? Now she felt bad because she may have possibly just ruined some big surprise Jensen had planned. Great, she was a horrible friend.

When Sophia finally left, Jared quickly put the tractor back in the garage beside his car and headed towards the house, just wanting to lock himself in it and be alone. He had basically just dug his own grave by telling that lie. Honestly, he was a little upset about it – he’d grown to actually like these people here and when Jensen got back, he was going to tell everyone the truth and they would all hate Jared. Not that it really mattered since he was going to have to leave this place, but he couldn’t help feeling a little upset.

About three days later, Jared’s worst fear came true – Jensen showed up at the house when he was just hopping out of the shower. Jared had known that this wasn’t going to be permanent, but he had been hoping he would have had a few more days to get everything under control. He had actually been planning on inviting a few people over and telling them good bye. Making up _another_ lie to tell people how he and Jensen had gotten into a huge fight over the phone and they were going to be taking a break from each other. Then Jared could have at least gotten out of here before Jensen got back and the green-eyed man would be none the wiser.

It was obvious that wasn’t going to happen now, so he figured that he at least owed Jensen an explanation and an apology. Maybe if he explained his situation, Jensen would take pity on him and not press charges for breaking and entering? After all, Jared didn’t know Jensen all that well – he could be a sympathetic guy. Though with Jared’s luck he knew it was doubtful. Still, he was going to be hopeful. “Hi,” he greeted with a small smile, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

When Jensen first walked into the house he didn’t recognize the man standing in the middle of his bedroom with only a towel slung loosely over his hips. It didn’t take him long, however, to remember the drunken moment with the sexy man from the hotel bar that he’d been to a few weeks after Kerr dumped him. Honestly, Jensen had never thought he would ever see Jared again – obviously he’d been wrong because here he was standing in his bedroom. “Jared, what are you doing here?” Jensen asked, fury bubbling just beneath the surface. This place was meant for him and Kerr and it seemed like Jared had just moved himself into it. Even the furniture that Jensen had his parents store at their locker for him was here now.

“Um…it’s a long story,” Jared explained, biting into his bottom lip as he glanced at the floor, only now remembering that he was only in a towel. “I’ll uh, get dressed and we can talk about it,” he suggested, grabbing his clothes and scurrying off to the bathroom. His heart was beating a mile a minute and he had no idea what he was going to tell Jensen, but he knew he had to tell him something. As he pulled on his shirt he decided that word vomit had gotten him into this situation, so he needed to let word vomit get him out of it. He’d just tell Jensen the truth and go from there. 

Once he was out of the bathroom, Jared sat Jensen down on the couch and started from the beginning. He told him about his crappy job, and his missing siblings, and how Frederic had tried to rape him; then he told him how he had managed to get here. That was the easy part – the hard part was telling Jensen that he was now married to him and they were a very happy couple and that they were living here together to be closer to Jensen’s parents and childhood friends. Needless to say, Jensen didn’t take that part all that well. 

“You did what?!” Jensen demanded, pushing himself off the couch and staring dumbly down at Jared. “What the hell were you thinking, Jared?! You can’t just go around making up stories about other peoples’ lives and you sure as hell can’t just make yourself at home in their place when they’re not even here to invite you to stay! I mean, _seriously_ , what were you thinking?!”

Jared didn’t have a chance to answer before there was a knock on the door. Sighing, Jensen moved towards the door, yanking it open as he glared at Jared once more. “What?!” he answered, frowning deeply when he realized that his visitor was Kerr. Great – what the hell could he possibly want? This day was just getting better and better. “Kerr, what are you doing here?”

Smirking softly, Kerr greeted him, “Well, welcome back Jensen. Last I heard you were away on business.” Seeing that Jensen wasn’t in the mood to talk, Kerr got right to the point, “Anyway, I’m throwing a little party at my house tonight and I was wondering if you and Jared would like to come. I mean, he’s met quite a few people in the neighborhood, but he hasn’t met _everyone._ I figure this will be a nice way for him to get used to all of us and for you to show off your new husband. Just a social gathering, if you will. So, what do you say? Are you in?”

Although Jensen didn’t like what Jared had done, he could tell that Kerr was clearly jealous about the fact that Jensen was with Jared. Hell, Jensen could practically see the tension in Kerr’s shoulders when he spoke about Jared. “Uh, yeah, sure,” Jensen answered, giving Kerr a small smirk of his own. “ _My husband_ and I would be delighted to come over.” With another small smile and a nod, Jensen closed the door and turned back to Jared. “All right, I’m not mad anymore,” he explained, moving towards the couch and taking a seat once more. “I actually have a proposition for you.”

Well, Jared didn’t particularly like the sound of this, but he was desperate and beggars couldn’t be choosers. “Okay,” he mumbled softly, biting into his bottom lip once more. “What is it?”

A wide smile came to Jensen’s lips when Jared asked about the deal – that meant he was at least thinking about it. “Obviously, you being my husband is pissing Kerr off and I think I can use it to my advantage in getting him back,” Jensen explained. “So, how about we just go with this whole marriage thing and when I get Kerr back we can divorce and you can keep the house. I mean, the social workers will let you have Megan here – it’s a damn good house. I’ll even throw in a few thousand dollars too, just to get you on your feet. How about it?”

Jared knew a good deal when he heard one and although this didn’t seem right, Jared didn’t see a different option for him. The thought of having Megan back definitely drove his decision. “All right, you have a deal,” Jared answered with a small nod.

Again, Jensen smiled widely as he stood once again, prompting Jared to do the same. “Great. Let’s seal it with a kiss.” Before he gave Jared a chance to answer, Jensen’s lips were on Jared’s, his tongue pressing into the younger man’s mouth, stealing Jared’s breath as his tongue tangled with Jared’s own. Once the kiss broke, Jensen pulled back, giving Jared a small smile. “Well, I should shower so we’re not late for Kerr’s party. Uh…you should probably change into something a little less casual. Gotta look good if you’re going to be my husband.”

With that, Jensen clapped Jared on the shoulder and headed into the bathroom, tossing his shirt on the bed before he closed the door behind him. He was feeling a lot better than he had felt in weeks and he kind of loved it. Jensen had actually almost forgotten how it felt to have hope. Kerr had dumped him, and his whole world had shattered it seemed like, but now, because of Jared, he had a chance to get it back. He knew that Kerr had been out on dates with numerous men only a week after their break-up, but he was willing to overlook that. After all, he had been with Kerr for three years prior to the split and he knew that a love like that couldn’t just be forgotten – Kerr still felt it too and Jared was going to be that extra push that made him realize he’d given up Jensen when he hadn’t really wanted to.


	2. Chapter 2

Jared didn’t really have anything in his wardrobe that wasn’t casual except his work clothes, and he really didn’t want to wear that. But Jensen had said that he needed to look nice, and he was always complimented on his clothing at work, so he supposed he was just going to have to go with it. Besides, he had agreed to make Jensen’s ex jealous, and the way these jeans hugged his ass had gotten him a lot of compliments, much to his dismay. Honestly, Jared hated being complemented on his looks because he didn’t find himself attractive. He was too flawed, and there were too many things about his past that made him unattractive – no one could truly love him anymore, and that’s all there was to it.

When Jensen got out of the shower and saw what Jared was wearing, a small smile came to his lips, the older man obviously impressed with the way Jared looked. “Um…just let me get dressed and we can go,” he explained, grabbing a soft long sleeved T-shirt and a pair of jeans. He wasn’t sure who was going to be at this little party Kerr was putting together, but Jensen had a feeling that it was going to be practically the whole town. Kerr was an attention whore like that. And although his parents and his friends really didn’t like Kerr – hated him actually – Jensen knew that they would go to see him and Jared together. After all, from what Jared had told him when he first got back, the entire town had been won over by Jared’s charms. 

Jensen and his family were really close, so their opinions had obviously mattered to Jensen to a degree. It had always been something Kerr hated, Jensen remembered. Of course, Jensen hadn’t broken up with Kerr because they didn’t like him, but it had put a strain on the relationship, and Jensen had a theory that it was one of the reasons Kerr hadn’t agreed to marry him and just dumped him instead. But that wasn’t going to matter if their plan worked. He and Jared were going to make this work and Kerr would come crawling back to Jensen. And after much groveling, Jensen was going to take him back.

Once he was dressed, Jensen quickly hustled Jared out of the house, taking his hand so that they looked more like a couple. If they were going to pull this off, they were going to have to look like they were in love. “You know, you seemed to have fooled the entire neighborhood with your little story of us being married,” Jensen chuckled, smirking at Jared when he merely blushed. “And you’re a waiter at a hotel restaurant and bar? Seriously, with your skills, you missed your chances of becoming some hotshot actor, or a lawyer, or something.”

Chuckling, Jared gave his head a small shake, not believing Jensen for a second. “Shut up, I did not,” he laughed, shrugging. “I just…didn’t know what else to say. I was in a desperate situation, and the lies just kept spilling out of my mouth. It wasn’t like they were premeditated or anything.” Jared was pretty sure that when lawyers lied, they had everything planned out before they went up against that jury. And actors, well they had a script that they read from and memorized. Jared didn’t have any of that – he just had an overactive imagination. There was a difference.

As soon as they got to Kerr’s house, they were invited in and offered a beer. It wasn’t anything fancy, but Jensen was right about the whole town being there. Honestly, he was a little surprised that so many people had showed up; as far as he had known, Kerr didn’t really have many friends. But the people of this town really did like a good party, so he figured that had something to do with the turn out. 

Almost immediately, Jensen’s parents came bustling over to gush over Jared. It annoyed him, actually because they barely knew Jared, yet they were already treating him like part of the family. He had been with Kerr for _three years_ and they hadn’t treated him like this. In fact, they had been very open about their dislike for Kerr and their disapproval of their relationship. But then again, catching a glimpse at Kerr, Jensen could see that his parents’ obvious adoration for Jared was making him seethe, so he wasn’t going to be too annoyed by the fact that Jared had won over his parents. 

“So, Jared, let’s see the ring,” Donna finally encouraged. She had been waiting patiently to see the wedding band, but now she was done waiting. Her son was very predictable. If he really loved someone, he would get him a wedding band that showed it. Donna just wanted to make sure Jensen actually meant this was Jared and it wasn’t just a fling that would go sour within a few months. Not only would that be bad for her son’s career with all of the unwanted publicity, but it would also break her son’s heart, she was sure. Plus, she liked Jared, and was very excited to have him as part of their family.

At the suggestion to see the ring, Jared nearly choked on his own tongue. A ring?! Shit, Jared knew there was something big he hadn’t been thinking about when he spewed these damn lies. Luckily, before he could make even more of a fool of himself, Jensen stepped in. “Jared and I didn’t buy rings for each other, Mom,” he explained, his hand pressing against the small of Jared’s back, willing him to calm down before he started to hyperventilate. “I mean, what does a ring really mean, anyway? We’re married, and we’re in love – do we really need a piece of jewelry to make it count?” 

Although Jensen’s mother agreed with him, it was traditional for a man to give the one he chose to marry a ring, so she wasn’t going to let up on this one. “Well, not necessarily, but it does make a guy feel special, I’m sure, Jen,” Donna smiled at her son. “Don’t be cheap, Jensen. Get the boy a ring and make it official.” Shooting a smile towards Jared, Donna pat both of their cheeks before she moved away to find her husband, who had gone off to get them drinks.

Sighing, Jared gave his head a small shake, turning his attention to Jensen. “You don’t have to get me a ring,” he assured Jensen, feeling heat rush to his cheeks. God, he felt like he was a child again and everything that he said made him blush with embarrassment. It was…well, it was embarrassing.

Jared didn’t know his parents very well, obviously if that’s what he thought. “Yeah, I do,” he assured Jared with a small chuckle. “You know they won’t leave me alone about it until you’ve got a ring on your finger. “And besides, I don’t mind. We’ll go sometime tomorrow and pick out rings that match, or something sappy like that. And we’ll also have to get some photos because people are going to start asking soon. I’m surprised you managed to keep them from demanding to see photos already.”

Yeah, so was Jared. “Well, I just told them that the only pictures we had of each other were on our phones and they weren’t exactly the types of photos we wanted to share with others,” Jared teased, smirking at Jensen when he realized the older man had believed him. “So, then I guess that’s what we’ve got planned for tomorrow, then?” he asked, glancing over to Kerr, noticing that the man was giving him the serious stink eye. Of course, Jared couldn’t blame the man – if he was in Kerr’s position, he would probably be doing the same thing. But it was his fault that Jensen wasn’t with him anymore, so Jared didn’t understand why he was so upset. Still, the staring was making him feel a little uncomfortable.

It wasn’t hard to see that Jared seemed distressed, causing Jensen to frown softly. “What’s wrong, Jay?” he whispered softly, his eyes moving to land on Kerr when he noticed that Jared was staring at him.

Quickly, Jared turned his attention to Jensen and gave his head a small shake. “Nothing. It’s just…he’s staring at us like we’re freaks, or something,” he explained, biting into his bottom lip as he tried to forget about those cold eyes that had been boring holes into Jared’s own.

He had to admit that he was pretty pleased that Kerr seemed so jealous. But Jensen wasn’t too keen on the idea of Jared being uncomfortable with the staring. After all, his intention was to make Kerr jealous, but not if it meant Kerr was going to give Jared those dirty looks. Still, Jensen could use this to his advantage – and he was hoping that it would get Kerr to stop looking at them. “Well, let’s give him something to stare at, baby,” he whispered softly, his index finger and thumb cupping Jared’s chin as he pulled him into a tender kiss.

When Jensen kissed him, Jared gasped in shock before quickly relaxing into the kiss. It felt nice to be kissed like this after so long. Almost as if someone actually cared about him. Jared hadn’t felt like this for a long time – not since... 

No, he wasn’t going to think about that. Instead, he kissed Jensen back, running his fingers through the short strands of the older man’s hair. He actually loved kissing Jensen if he was being honest with himself. Jared knew that he shouldn’t love it as much as he did, but he couldn’t help it. There was just something about Jensen that made him all warm and tingly, and he couldn’t shake the feeling. It scared him a little bit.

By the time the kiss ended, both men were panting. A small chuckle escaped Jared’s lips as he pulled back, glancing at Kerr who was no longer staring at them, thankfully. “Yeah,” he whispered softly, giving his head a small nod. “I think that definitely got him to stop staring at us. He, uh, must have been jealous, I guess.” And why the hell wouldn’t he have been? If Jared had been the one who Jensen proposed to, he would have never said no. He wouldn’t even have _thought_ about saying no!

A pleased smirk came to Jensen’s lips at Jared’s words, the older man taking Jared’s hand and leading him away from the wall they were standing beside. If he was going to be at this party, then he was at least going to have a little fun. And the music was at least good, so he supposed that dancing wasn’t out of the question. The more Kerr saw him and Jared together at this party, the more jealous he would get – that’s exactly what Jensen was going for. “Dance with me,” he whispered in Jared’s ear, his body pressing close to Jared’s as he wrapped his arms around the taller man’s waist, pulling him in so there was hardly any space between them.

Although Jared wasn’t really a big dancer, he supposed that he could at least give Jensen a dance or two. After all, he owed Jensen so much for all of his kindness. Jensen could have just kicked him out on his ass when he came back to the house and saw that Jared had made it his home and cooked up this fantasy where they were married – but he hadn’t. Instead, Jensen had embraced it and even offered to let Jared have the house when this was all over. So yeah, one dance wasn’t going to kill Jared.

One dance eventually turned into five before Jensen and Jared were ready to call it a night. Jared’s eyes were starting to droop, and in the morning, they had a lot of things that needed to be done. After all, they needed to get photos taken from their “wedding,” and they needed to get each other rings. And that wasn’t even counting the pictures they were going to have to take of themselves looking like a couple for the house so it was more believable. Plus, Jared figured that it would be a smart idea for them to sit down and have a real conversation that way when someone asked them a question about the other, they didn’t just sit there and flounder because they knew nothing about each other.

So yeah, by midnight, it was definitely time to call it a night. Jensen made sure to say goodbye to Kerr and thank him for inviting them over, his fingers lacing with Jared’s as he spoke to his ex-boyfriend. He was maybe enjoying this a little too much, but Kerr deserved it. Jared was hot, and Jensen had no problems rubbing that fact in Kerr’s face. His parents had already gone home for the evening, so he didn’t have to say goodnight to anyone else, just walking the short distance from Kerr’s house to his own, locking the door once he and Jared were both inside.

Not long after returning to the house, Jared scurried off to one of the guest rooms after bidding Jensen goodnight. This was Jensen’s house, so Jared didn’t think it would have been right of him to take the master bedroom. Of course, the bed in there was a lot more comfortable than this one, but he wasn’t going to complain. At least he had a pillow and a mattress under him, which was more than he could have said if Jensen had tossed him out. Sighing, he rolled onto his side, hissing in slight pain when his back protested, forcing him to reposition himself once more until he managed to get comfortable lying on his stomach.

It wasn’t too long after that before Jared’s eyes were fluttering closed and he was sleeping.

**~~**

Just as Jared had suspected, the next day was filled with loads of necessities that needed to be taken care of to make this marriage look real. Jensen had bought him a beautiful ring, spending a ridiculous amount of money on it, much to Jared’s disagreement. “Jensen, you didn’t have to spend so much money on me,” Jared argued. “I mean, this isn’t real, and when we’re done with this, then you can’t get a refund – at least not a full refund.”

“Jared, could you just quit nagging at me and let me buy you something nice?” Jensen had shot back, running his thumb over the ring on Jared’s finger. It looked _really_ good there. “Besides, this is the ring for you. It practically had your name written on it already, and I saw the way your eyes lit up when you spotted it. So shush up about how much it costs and just say thank you.”

Smiling, Jared shook his head, rolling his eyes. Jensen didn’t seem to care about the money, so why should Jared? Jensen was right – Jared should just shut up and enjoy this day. “Thank you,” he finally said, unable to stop looking at the new piece of jewelry that was now on his finger when his hand wasn’t being held by Jensen’s. 

The next stop was the wedding photos. Jensen knew a girl – Danneel – and she apparently had a reputation for taking the best photos around. After seeing the finished products, Jared knew that the reputation was definitely well earned. He made sure to be extra careful with those photos as they climbed into Jensen’s car and headed back to the house. Now, all they had left to do was take a few pictures of the two of them looking like a couple to put in frames around the house. Oh, and then there was the conversation they had to have with each other so they could get to know each other better. That was definitely an important thing on the agenda.

Jensen was in charge of taking all of the pictures of them as a couple. Back when he had been in college, he had dabbled in photography, so he enjoyed taking pictures from different angles and just playing with different settings and things on the camera. He even took a few pictures of Jared alone, treating the younger man as though he were a model as he snapped shots of Jared in different poses and light settings. Jensen was definitely going to be putting a few of those out for all his guests to see, even if Jared told him not to.

Once all of the pictures had been taken, Jensen ordered them a pizza while Jared flipped through the different choices on demand so they could watch a movie. While they waited for the delivery boy to come with their food, Jared prompted the conversation he wanted them to have. “So, don’t you think we should talk about our lives, or something? That way we at least look like we know each other in case anyone asks?” he suggested, biting into his bottom lip as he waited for Jensen’s answer.

At first, Jensen couldn’t give Jared an answer because he was too damn distracted by the way Jared was biting at his bottom lip. He’d kissed those lips a few times now, and he knew how good they felt – watching Jared bite at that bottom lip all of the time made Jensen want to lean in and replace Jared’s teeth with his own. But he knew that Jared had asked him a question, so he quickly shoved those thoughts out of his mind and answered, “Yeah, all right, we can do that. Go ahead and start the Q and A, Jared. I’m an open book.”

It lasted about two hours, Jared taking notes in his head and trying to remember everything he could about Jensen all the while avoiding answering the questions about his past in too much detail – Jensen didn’t need to know about that. Ultimately, they decided that they were going to appear to be very happy together – a loving couple at first. As time went on though, they would be caught having private arguments, and then finally the arguments would escalate and become public. Once Jensen got Kerr back, he and Jared would divorce, using the excuse that they rushed into things, and everything would be done. Jared would get the house so he could have a place to stay with Megan, and Jensen would be with Kerr again. It would all work out.

By now, the pizza was practically gone, and they still hadn’t started the movie, but the conversation had been a little more important, Jared figured. Besides, now it was a little late because Jared had to be at work in the morning and he just wanted to get some sleep. “Well, I think we might have to wait for the movie,” he frowned, pushing himself to his feet. “I have to be at work tomorrow morning, so I should get to bed.”

Frowning, Jensen pushed himself from his seat so he was standing next to Jared. “You’re going back to work?” he asked, honestly shocked that Jared wasn’t just staying here and letting Jensen take care of him. Actually, it was pretty ridiculous for him to be shocked now that he thought about it. Jared had just explained how independent he was – Jared didn’t like to rely on people for anything, but he apparently would be there for a friend in need without a moment’s hesitation. Yeah, Jensen could definitely see that about him.

“Yeah, Jensen, I have to,” Jared explained. “I can’t lose my job. If I want social services to give me full custody of my sister, then I have to prove to them that I can be responsible. Not showing up to work for a scheduled shift doesn’t exactly show responsibility.” Although he really didn’t want to go, he knew he had to. And the few days off had been nice – three weekends in a row now. He must have been doing something right to get that kind of schedule. But tomorrow was another day, and he would have to work another twelve-hour shift – probably one of many for this week.

If he was being honest with himself, Jensen would have rather Jared stayed in the house with him all day, but he wasn’t going to force Jared into staying when he clearly had his own thoughts about this work thing. Sure, it was a two hour drive to get there from here, but again, Jensen wasn’t going to say anything. Jared seemed determined to keep this job, so Jensen wasn’t going to stand in the way of that. Even if it wouldn’t have been his decision. 

Maybe he would talk to Sophia about getting Jared a job with her. After all, the last he heard, she was still looking for a receptionist at the clinic she worked at, and Jared would be perfect for the job. He was a people person, and he had a great voice – Jensen would have hired him. Of course, he wasn’t going to talk to Jared about that until he was sure the position was still open and Sophia was interested. After all, there was no use in getting Jared’s hopes up for something that might not happen. “Well, all right, then. Goodnight – I’ll see you in the morning.”

With a small smile, Jared nodded and moved towards the guest room that he had taken on as his own. He had learned over the last few nights that if he slept on his stomach, his back didn’t hurt as badly, so he immediately plopped onto the bed on his stomach, his head turning so he could press his cheek against the pillow. Within minutes, he was drifting off into a light sleep, soft snores leaving him as he rested up for his long shift tomorrow.

**~~**

Jensen busied himself that day with little odds and ends that needed to be done around the house. He put out the pictures so everyone who came into the house could see how happy he and Jared looked. In fact, Jensen had to pride himself on how good everything looked because he was even starting to believe that they were a happy couple after looking around his home. But he wasn’t going to be completely satisfied until he had put the house to the test, which meant calling over a friend. After all, he already wanted to talk to Sophia about giving Jared a job, so she was the perfect person to test his new décor out on.

Sophia showed up about twenty minutes after he had called her. Mondays were her days off, so she wasn’t doing anything else today – plus, she liked talking to Jensen and just catching up. It was no secret that his job took him away sometimes, so when she had an opportunity to talk to him, she was definitely going to take it. “Hey Jen!” she called out as she was ushered into the house, her arms immediately wrapping around her friend’s shoulders as she pulled him into a warm embrace.

“Hey Sophia,” Jensen greeted, his arms wrapping around her waist. “Thanks for coming over on such short notice. I uh, wanted to talk to you about that position that was open at the clinic.” Moving further into the house, he watched as Sophia’s eyes roamed over the pictures of him and Jared, Jensen instantly able to read his friend’s expressions – she was definitely convinced that he and Jared were a happy couple. Taking a seat, Jensen asked, “Is it still available, by chance?” He knew that positions that were that sweet got gobbled up almost as soon as they went to print, but he was hopeful – for now at least.

Frowning softly, Sophia nodded. “Uh…yeah, it’s still available. Why?” She didn’t know why Jensen would be interested in a receptionist position at a clinic when he already had a job as a very successful and very wealthy architect, but she was willing to listen. After all, if Jensen was looking for a career change and he was interested in the position, then her search was over as far as she was concerned. 

At the news that the position was still available, Jensen smiled softly. That was excellent news. Now, all he had to do was talk it over with Jared and he may have found the younger man a better job, which was also closer to home. “I don’t know if he told you, but Jared works as a waiter in one of the hotels back where he used to live before he came here to stay with me,” Jensen explained. “It’s about a two hour drive, and he works crazy long hours for minimum wage. I mean, I told him he should quit because I can support us both, but he doesn’t want to be supported. He’s independent like that. But I don’t like the idea of him working there. I mean, I’ve been there, and it’s not exactly the safest joint in town. And his boss is an ass.”

When she heard that Jared was up for a job, Sophia smiled, giving a small nod. “Well, if he wants the position, it’s his,” she assured her friend, giving her shoulders a small shrug. She liked Jared, and she could tell that he was a hard worker just from the few conversations that she’d had with him while Jensen had been gone. And now hearing Jensen say that he drove almost two hours to his job only confirmed her original thoughts.

Once the job issue was settled, Jensen and Sophia just hung out for a while – watching movies, talking about Jensen’s new project at work, and then the conversation moved on to Jared. Sophia really seemed to like him, which was different for Jensen. When he had been with Kerr, their conversations always consisted of Sophia telling him what an ass Kerr was and how he should dump him. But now, Sophia was gushing over Jared and congratulating Jensen on finding a good one. It kind of made Jensen mad, yet at the same time, he was kind of happy that his best friend approved of his _husband_. Of course, once he got back with Kerr, he knew this was going to end, so he was going to enjoy this while it lasted.

**~~**

Later that evening, Jared quietly made his way into the house, figuring that Jensen was probably asleep by now. It was after midnight, after all. Actually, Jared had been scheduled to be working until close, but he had left the bar before his shift ended without permission. He knew that Nick wasn’t going to fire him because of it, but it still didn’t look good for him, and he knew that he was going to have to pay for it when he went back tomorrow. But he had to get out of there tonight – he’d left without even giving it much thought, honestly.

Much to his surprise, Jensen was sitting in the kitchen sipping on coffee and working on his laptop when Jared walked in. “Jesus, Jared, I thought you were never going to come back,” Jensen teased, a small smile on his lips as he finished up on his laptop and closed the lid, his gaze meeting Jared’s for the first time since the younger man came into to room. As soon as his eyes landed on Jared, Jensen felt white-hot rage shooting through his veins as he shoved himself out of his chair and moved towards Jared, cupping the younger man’s cheeks and tilting his head towards the small light that was still on. “What happened to you?” he demanded, frowning at the deep, purple bruise marring Jared’s flesh right around his left eye.

Jensen cupping his cheeks like that caught Jared off guard, a small gasp escaping him. “It’s n-nothing,” he assured Jensen, giving his head a small shake as he pulled away from Jensen’s grasp. He didn’t want to talk about it. All Jared wanted to do was go to bed and just relax. His back hurt and his eye hurt, and he just wanted to shut it all out and get some sleep.

Angrily, Jensen argued, “That’s not nothing, Jared! You have a fucking black eye. Who hit you?!” Jensen had only stepped foot into the hotel once, and he had already been pretty drunk by that time, but he could tell even then that the place was bad news. He’d been watching Jared the whole time he was there because he thought Jared was hot as hell and he wanted to get with him to make the pain of his breakup go away. And he had seen the way people hit on Jared – the way the customers tried to cop a feel and the way Jared’s boss screamed at him when he didn’t allow the rich guys to touch him. Something had happened and Jensen wanted to know what.

It was becoming very obvious that Jensen wasn’t going to let this go, so Jared just gave in. “A client tried to feel me up tonight, and I pushed him away when he wouldn’t take no for an answer,” Jared explained, shrugging as if it had been nothing. “Nick got pissed because the guy was a really wealthy client and he ordered me to flirt with him to get bigger tips and make the guy stay and order more drinks. And when I refused, Nick…punched me and threatened to fire me.” Shaking his head, Jared explained, “He won’t actually do it, but I left anyway. I mean, tomorrow, he’ll make me pay for it, but I don’t really care. I just want to go to bed. My back hurts and I’m just really tired.”

The fact that Jared could just shrug this off as though it was nothing pissed Jensen off. “Are you fucking nuts?” Jensen asked, scoffing at Jared’s obvious confusion. “You’re not going back there! I don’t care if you need the money, or whatever other lame excuse you have about that damn job. I’ll find you another job – I _have_ found you another job. Sophia said she’ll call you about it tomorrow. There’s no fucking way I’m letting you go back to that bar.”

Shaking his head, Jared argued, “I can’t just not show up for my scheduled shifts, Jensen! I’m not like you, all right?! I need a job, and once we’re done trying to fool people about our marriage, Sophia probably won’t want me around. And if I can’t get a new job because of something that happened at the bar, then I’m screwed!”

Now, it was Jensen’s turn to shake his head. “Fine, we’ll go put your resignation letter in right now,” he ordered, grabbing his jacket and heading out to his car. Jared quickly followed after him, begging Jensen not to interfere with his work, but Jensen wasn’t listening. He wasn’t going to just sit around and let Jared work somewhere with a boss who would go as far to whore Jared out for a few extra bucks and then _hit_ him when he refused. No one deserved to be treated like that – especially not Jared.

Although the bar and restaurant part of the hotel was closed by the time Jensen made it there, Nick was still closing up when Jensen walked in. Jared had opted to stay in the car because he didn’t want to be part of this, which was fine with Jensen. If he had been in Jared’s position, he wouldn’t have wanted to see this either. Then again, Jared didn’t know just how bad Jensen’s temper could get, so he knew that wasn’t a reason for him staying in the car.

As soon as he was close enough to Nick, Jensen shoved the paper at the other man, explaining, “This is your notice; Jared isn’t coming back here after what you did to him tonight.”

A small frown came to Nick’s lips as he looked at the letter, giving his head a small shake. “What are you, Jared’s pimp or something?” he asked, chuckling at his own joke. “The whore will come back for his scheduled shift just like he always does. Jared needs this job so he can keep that crappy little apartment of his. Hell, he’s probably whoring himself out to that landlord too, and the little slut wouldn’t work his magic to get me a little extra cash? He deserved what he got if you ask me.”

Jensen couldn’t believe his ears as he listened to Nick speak about Jared in such a way. He didn’t understand where this man got off talking about someone as sweet and innocent as Jared as though he were some kind of street trash. Before Jensen even knew what he was doing, his fist had connected with Nick’s jaw, sending the man to his knees beside one of the bar stools. “Stay the fuck away from Jared!” Jensen warned, angrily stalking out of the hotel and back to his car, slamming the door shut. “There, that wasn’t so bad,” he assured Jared with a small smile. “Like I said, Sophia will be calling you tomorrow with the details about your new job.”

The drive back to the house was done in silence, Jared honestly impressed with the way Jensen handled the situation. Of course, he didn’t know that he’d punched Nick, but instead thought that they’d talked like adults and worked everything out. But what Jared didn’t know wouldn’t kill him as far as Jensen was concerned.


	3. Chapter 3

“Mom, Jared and I don’t _want_ a wedding party,” Jensen tried to reason with his mother. He knew that the older woman meant well, but sometimes she could get a little out of hand. Like when she tried to throw massive parties to celebrate Jensen and Jared’s marriage – Jensen hated it when she got into a kick like this, and he knew there was nothing he could really say to stop her. But that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try like hell. “Jared doesn’t like parties, Mom. He gets all weird about them and then he’s upset for the rest of the night.”

Shaking her head, Donna explained, “Well, he’s just going to have to get over it. I’m throwing you boys a party and you’re going to enjoy yourselves.” A bright smile appeared on her lips as she pat her son’s cheek. “Now, be prepared for tomorrow evening at eight o’clock. That’s when everyone is going to be here, and you and Jared better show up. I mean, what kind of a party is it if the guests of honor don’t arrive?”

With that, Donna walked off towards her own house, leaving Jensen frowning deeply on his patio. His mother could really be annoying sometimes, but he loved her, so what was he going to do? Sighing softly, he brushed his fingers through his short-cropped hair and headed back inside. If he had to break the news that there was a wedding party planned for them tomorrow night, he was going to need some more sleep. After all, it was no secret how jittery Jared got when he was at a party, and with this being thrown for him and Jensen, the older man had a feeling Jared was going to freak out. 

About four hours later, Jared came into the house, a wide smile on his face as he tossed his jacket over the back of one of the chairs in the dining room. That was something Jensen really was having trouble with throughout this whole agreement. He was neat and tidy – everything had its own little space; but Jared just came in and tossed his things wherever he felt like. It really annoyed Jensen, but he didn’t think starting a fight about it tonight was a good idea. Especially with the way he figured Jared was going to react to his news. “So, how was work?” he asked, eyes glancing up from his computer to look at Jared.

The smile on Jared’s face grew impossibly wider as he exclaimed, “It was great! Sophia really took me under her wing and showed me the right way to do everything. And I love working with the animals, so I was really happy.” It was strange for Jared to say that he was happy after working a shift, but he was. He’d never felt like this at the hotel, and he just wanted to go over and hug Jensen for the opportunity. But he didn’t – he’d hugged Sophia earlier, but that was different. Jared didn’t know if Jensen even allowed hugs, so he was just going to forget it. “Thank you for getting me the job. I really appreciate it, Jensen.”

Now, it was Jensen’s turn to smile. “You’re welcome,” he smirked, closing the lid on his laptop so he could focus all of his attention on Jared. “Look, there’s something we need to talk about. Why don’t you come here and have a seat?”

All of the happiness that Jared had been feeling a moment ago soon bled away into full blown panic when Jensen suggested that he have a seat. This sounded serious, and Jared had a feeling he knew what Jensen wanted to talk about. It was over already – Kerr had already decided to take Jensen back, and Jared was about to get the speech about how they needed to break up so he could be with Kerr again. But Jared didn’t know why it was bothering him so much. It wasn’t like this had ever been real. And they barely knew each other. A few weeks living in the same house together and going out didn’t mean anything – at least it shouldn’t have. However, in their attempt to look like a couple – going out to movies, dinner, picnics in the park – it had made Jared fall for Jensen. Even with all of the fighting that they were doing to put on a good show. Unfortunately, he knew that Jensen didn’t feel the same way and it was like a knife in his chest every time Jensen got excited about how damn jealous Kerr looked.

Jensen immediately sensed the change in Jared’s body when he said they needed to talk. Maybe he should have worded that differently? It was too late now, though. “So…I was talking to my mother today, and she told me that she has a big wedding party planned for us tomorrow night,” he explained, figuring that it was easier to just rip the Band-Aid off quick. “I tried to get out of it, but she insisted, and you know how she can be when she wants something.”

Hearing that the serious thing they needed to talk about was the wedding party his mother had planned for them, Jared visibly relaxed. “Oh,” he mumbled softly, giving a small chuckle. “Well, okay. I guess we just have to be on our best behavior tomorrow night, then. So, what should we argue about then?” Having a plan before they went into something was always a nice idea. At least Jared thought so, and it seemed to make everything run more smoothly, so it all worked out.

It surprised him that Jared wasn’t having a panic attack right now, but he was going to count that as a win. “Um…I don’t know, yet. Maybe you can accuse me of still having feelings for my ex-boyfriend, or something?” he suggested, figuring that would get Kerr’s attention, provided he was even invited to the party. He knew how his parents could be sometimes. When Jared merely nodded, Jensen smiled, pushing himself out of his chair. “Oh, and they want you to bring your parents. My mom wants to meet them.” 

Again, all of the color drained from Jared’s face when he was told to bring his parents. No, that wasn’t going to work. Jared didn’t have parents, not anymore. As far as he was concerned, his parents were dead, and he wanted to keep them that way. But he hadn’t told Jensen that, and it wasn’t exactly a great time to throw that out there right now. So instead, Jared just nodded, letting Jensen know that he would tell his parents about it.

“What do you say we get out of here?” Jensen suggested suddenly, a small smirk coming to his lips. “I’m starving. And I know this little blues bar a few miles down the road that has the most delicious hamburgers in this town. You wanna go?” His smile widened when Jared nodded, the older man grabbing his coat and waiting for Jared at the door, locking up the house once they were both out the door.

**~~**

At the blues bar, Jared met Jensen’s best friend Christian Kane and his partner Steve Carlson. Jared liked them a lot because they were funny, and they knew how to have a good time. “You know Jared, Jensen wasn’t always this uptight,” Christian explained as he slung an arm over Steve’s shoulder. “Not before he started dating that idiot ex of his. He used to be fun and carefree; kinda like us. But then Kerr started getting to him and Jensen became very career-focused and obsessed with money. I mean, don’t get me wrong, Jensen was always hard-working, but he took it to the extreme after being with Kerr for about a year. The worst part though was that Jen lost his sense of humor.”

Shaking his head, Steve perked up, bumping shoulders with Christian. “But it’s not all bad news,” he assured Jared with a small smirk, checking the floor for Jensen to make sure he hadn’t come out of the bathroom and was eavesdropping. “I’m seeing more of the old Jensen now that he’s with you. I think you can be good for him. He’s got that look in his eyes again, and I can just tell that he cares about you. Another thing Kerr took from Jensen was his romance. Kerr didn’t have a damn romantic bone in his body, and he _hated_ it when Jensen tried to do something romantic for him. But I can see that spark back in Jensen and the romance is coming back. I’m guessing that has something to do with you.”

Before Jared could say anything in response to the other men, Jensen came back to the table, slinging his arm over Jared’s shoulder. “What have you guys been talking about?” Jensen asked, frowning at Christian and Steve. They had that look on their faces like they were planning something. Jensen really hated that look.

“Nothing,” Christian assured Jensen with an innocent smile. “You know Jensen, it’s open mic night here tonight. You should go up there and belt out a tune.” His friend had once been the best karaoke singer in the bar, but he stopped singing shortly after he started dating Kerr. Apparently, the other man had sucked all of the fun out of Jensen. 

Although Jensen would have loved to go up there and sing, he wouldn’t. “Nah, not tonight guys,” Jensen answered, giving his head a small shake. He hadn’t been up there in so long, Jensen didn’t want to make a fool of himself tonight. After all, he had come here to eat and have a few drinks with his friends as well as invite them to the wedding party. “So, are you guys coming to the party, or not?” he asked as he took another swig from his beer.

As if Jensen even had to ask. “Of course we’re coming, you loon,” Steve assured the younger man. “We might be a little late though because we’re actually performing tomorrow night at seven. Probably won’t be able to show up until around nine.”

Nodding, Jensen assured his friend, “Yeah, that’s all right. As long as you come. My mother’s on one of her trips where she wants this party to be perfect. You know how she gets when she really wants something.” Chuckling, Jensen downed the rest of his beer before he checked his watch. “Mmm…we should head back. Mom wants us there in the morning so we can go over things and help her decorate.” He gave an apologetic smile to Jared at the information before he hugged Christian and Steve good bye.

While they were walking home, Jared asked, “Why didn’t you want to sing tonight?” He would have loved to hear Jensen singing up on the stage. Of course, Jared couldn’t carry a tune, but he had heard Jensen singing in the shower a few times and from what he’d heard, the man had a nice voice on him. 

Jensen merely shrugged at the question. “I haven’t been on a stage in over two years,” he finally explained. “I didn’t want to go up there and make a fool out of myself. I’m out of practice.” Kerr had always hated it when Jensen would sing, or play his guitar, or take photographs, so Jensen just stopped doing the things he loved because he didn’t want to annoy Kerr. Looking back now it seemed a little unfair, but Jensen was in love, and he didn’t mind giving those things up as long as Kerr was happy. 

Frowning slightly, Jared argued, “I don’t think you would have made a fool of yourself. I’ve heard you singing while you’re in the shower, and you have a great voice.” Bumping into Jensen as the older man rolled his eyes at him, Jared continued, “You should have more confidence in yourself.” Not that Jared had any room to talk, but at least Jensen had something to be confident about. Jared really didn’t have any hidden talents to be confident about.

Once they made it back to the house, Jensen opted to shower, neatly placing his jacket in the closet where it belonged. He knew that Jared wouldn’t take the hint, but he was going to try anyway. As Jared walked back to his room, Jensen smiled at the younger man’s back before giving his head a small shake. So maybe he was getting used to Jared’s odd little quirks – he actually liked having the younger man around.

**~~**

The next day moved along in a blur, Jared’s face actually hurting by mid-day because he was smiling so much. Jensen’s mother was a blast to be around, and he had to admit to himself that he was going to miss her when this arrangement finally ended. He figured it had something to do with the fact that he’d always wanted a mother like Donna, but instead he’d been slapped with someone like Sharon – Jensen didn’t know how good he had it. 

For the first time since this whole scam started, Jared realized just how wealthy Jensen’s family really was. He was honestly a little intimidated by it. But Donna assured him that they didn’t flaunt their wealth like everyone else; they preferred to live like middle-class folks. “Now, why don’t you go get dressed, hon?” Donna suggested, shooing Jared into one of the spare rooms so he could get changed for the party.

Guests started arriving at about seven thirty, congratulating Jensen and Jared on their marriage and making cracks about how awesome the honeymoon is going to be. Yeah, Jared could only imagine having a honeymoon with Jensen because the other man didn’t feel an ounce of anything for him – this was merely a ploy to get Kerr back to Jensen, and Jared had resigned himself to accepting that. Besides, it wasn’t like his track record would indicate that he would actually have a chance with Jensen. First, there had been his husband when he’d been eighteen who had died of cancer. Jared, of course, blamed himself for that because they hadn’t been able to afford the proper medication, even with Jared pulling double and triple shifts at the bar. 

But Jared never really spoke about him. Hell, no one even knew that he had been married – except a few close friends. They assured him that it wasn’t his fault Chad had gotten sick and couldn’t fight off the cancer in his body, but Jared found it hard to believe. He knew that if he could have just pulled in enough money and gotten Chad the proper treatments and medicine, there was a chance he could have survived. They’d only been together a year, and it had devastated Jared – Chad had been the only person Jared ever loved.

Now though, he was starting to feel the same way about Jensen. His body would shiver with pleasure at even the slightest touch, and he always felt safe with the older man. Of course, Jensen couldn’t see it because he only had eyes for Kerr, but Jared wasn’t thinking about that. Besides, he knew that he couldn’t be in love with Jensen because the very idea of falling for someone like that scared the hell out of him. He knew if he let himself feel for someone so strongly again, something bad would happen to either himself or Jensen because he was cursed. The stalker who had been obsessed with him a few years back should have been proof of that.

Finally, Jared saw Jeffrey Dean Morgan and his girlfriend Samantha Ferris. A wide smile came to his lips when he saw them, Jared quickly made his way to the door so he could greet them properly. When Jensen had told him that Donna wanted to meet his parents, Jared called Jeffrey as soon as he’d been alone. He’d explained the situation to Jeffrey and all but begged him to come to the party with Samantha and pretend to be his parents.

As soon as he reached them, Jared wrapped his arms around them both in greeting. “Thank you guys so much for coming,” he whispered, not wanting anyone else to hear their conversation. “I didn’t know who else to call, and this means so much to me.” He hadn’t told Jeffrey and Samantha everything about the party, but did let them know that he was married now. After all, he couldn’t let them know that part was a scam. “Um…I think Jensen’s parents want to meet you, so go be nice to them. Please?”

Jared trusted Jeffrey and Samantha to not blow his cover and to get Donna and Allan to like them. After all, they were likeable people, so he wasn’t too worried about leaving them alone for a few minutes while he mingled with Jensen’s friends so he didn’t seem rude. Of course, that didn’t mean Jared wanted to spend the whole party worrying about Kerr, though as soon as he walked in, that’s all Jensen seemed to be focused on.

Still, Jared wasn’t going to let it get to him. Over the last few weeks, he had really fAllan for Jensen and he was going to show Kerr just what a great husband he could be. With Jeffrey and Samantha occupied by Allan and Donna, Jared had Jensen all to himself. Well, he had to share with Kerr, but he wasn’t going to worry about that. With any luck, he was about to get Jensen’s mind completely off the other man. 

As soon as he reached Jensen, Jared wrapped his arms around him, leaning in and capturing Jensen’s lips in a deep, passionate kiss. He was actually a little surprised when Jensen kissed him back without hesitation, though he wasn’t going to dwell on that too much. As far as he was concerned, Jensen kissing him back was nice and he wasn’t going to question it. “Hey Jenny,” he smiled when they parted before leaning in and pressing another quick kiss to Jensen’s lips just for show. And yes, maybe even a little bit just because he could. “My parents just got here and they’re talking to your parents. I’m a little worried about what kind of plans they might be making for us. Think we should go interrupt them?”

A deep frown came to Kerr’s lips when Jared came over and interrupted his and Jensen’s conversation. Before Jared came over, he had just gotten into his flirting, and Jensen had seemed to be responding to him. But Jared screwed all of that up by kissing him. “Oh, Gerald and Sharon? I’d love to meet them,” Kerr smirked, having done some research on Jared and finding out that he and his parents hadn’t had contact since Jared had been fourteen. After all, he was rich and he knew how to use his resources to get what he wanted.

Again, he frowned when he looked over at Donna and Allan, realizing that Jared had actually had people come here to pose as his parents. That was about as pathetic as he had ever seen. “Well, the pictures I saw must have been of a different couple because they don’t look like Gerald and Sharon Padalecki,” he frowned, eyes ticking up to Jensen before he locked gazes with a very scared and confused Jared. “Unless they’re not really your parents. But why would you bring people who aren’t you parents to a party and have them pretend to be just that?”

Without saying a word, Jared turned and bolted out of the room, not wanting to get into this conversation with Kerr. Running was definitely the better option in this situation. Plus, he’d seen the look on Jensen’s face – he looked betrayed. And of course, Kerr had just been standing there with a smug smile on his lips like he had just won the lottery, or something. God, Jared hated him so much!

Unfortunately for Kerr, his plan backfired on him. He had been hoping to make Jared go away so he could resume flirting with Jensen, but as soon as Jared ran, Jensen followed after him. So much for that plan being successful. But Kerr had hope – Jensen hadn’t looked like he minded when he was flirting with him, so Kerr was taking that as a win. Now, all he had to do was get Jensen alone and try again when the time presented itself.

“Jared, baby,” Jensen cooed softly, moving towards Jared slowly so he didn’t make him bolt again. “Are you all right?” Jared was crying and it broke Jensen’s heart to see it. Damn, he knew Kerr could be an asshole sometimes, but this was pushing it just a little bit. When he was convinced that Jared wasn’t going to run, Jensen wrapped an arm around Jared, pulling him up tight against his body. “What was he talking about, Jay? Are those people really not your parents?”

This had to be one of the most embarrassing conversations Jared had ever had. But he couldn’t just sit here and lie to Jensen – not after his secret had already been exposed. Slowly, he shook his head, licking his lips. “No, they’re not my parents. They’re my friends.” Shaking his head, Jared locked gazes with Jensen as he tried to explain, “My parents and I haven’t spoken since I was fourteen. I…usually tell people that they’re dead to spare them the story of my life, but I just...I don’t know why I did this instead. Your parents wanted to meet mine, and I just panicked, Jensen, I’m so sorry.”

It was obvious that Jared was embarrassed by what he’d done, so Jensen was going to let him off the hook for now. Obviously, there was a story behind this, and Jensen was going to get to the bottom of it when they were home alone – there was no need to embarrass him further here. “Hey, it’s okay, baby, Jensen whispered in Jared’s ear, giving his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Don’t even worry about it. Let’s just get back to the party. I mean, we haven’t even started arguing, right?” Chuckling softly, Jensen brushed a stray tear from Jared’s cheek as he stood. “That should cheer you up, right?”

Although fighting with Jensen was the last thing he wanted to do, Jared didn’t want to let Jensen down. So, he figured the best thing for him to do now was go out there and make Jensen proud. “Yeah, I guess,” he mumbled softly, pushing himself to his feet and taking a deep breath. He pushed the door open and stepped out in the main living area, ready to get this fight started. “Just leave me alone, Jensen!” he cried out, managing the keep the blush off his cheeks as everyone in the room quieted and all eyes fell on him. God, he really hated this part.

Following after him, Jensen reached out and grabbed Jared’s elbow, stopping the younger man from walking any further away. “Baby, can we not do this here, please?” Jensen asked, eyes looking around the room. “Everyone is staring at us.” This was his favorite part; Jensen’s parents were very sharp and extremely observant, which meant Jensen and Jared had to always be on top of their game. His mother was a psychologist, which made everything so much more difficult. So when they got to fool around and act out, Jensen thought it was actually pretty fun.

“I don’t care!” Jared hissed, yanking his arm away from Jensen. “I saw you hitting on your ex, Jensen; that’s not okay!” At least not all of the arguing they did was a lie. Jared honestly wasn’t okay with Jensen hitting on his ex. He wasn’t going to tell Jensen, but he loved him – for real –and he didn’t want Jensen to love his ex-boyfriend; he wanted Jensen to love him.

An almost hurt look crossed Jensen’s features at Jared’s words, the older man giving his head a small shake. “Jared, we were just talking,” he argued. “You’re over reacting.”

Angrily, Jared shook his head, the younger man feeling tears welling up in his eyes again. Of course, it had nothing to do with the argument they were having, but more so to do with the future that he and Jensen were never going to have together. “I know what I saw,” he assured Jensen before he turned towards Jensen’s parents. “I’m sorry Donna and Allan, but I need to leave. Thank you for having me.” With that, Jared made a beeline for the door, making sure he didn’t slam it on his way out. After all, he did have manners.

A few moments after Jared left, Jensen was coming out the door as well, a large grin on his face. “Oh my God, Jared that was _amazing_!” he exclaimed, resisting the urge to pull Jared into a hug because he knew the guests were probably watching them through the window. “You were great! I mean, the _emotion_ that you managed to put behind that fight was phenomenal. God, I wish you could have seen my parents’ faces. They were priceless!”

Jared couldn’t help but smile at how happy Jensen was with the way the fight had turned out. “Yeah, that’s great, Jen,” he smiled, not really having too much else to say about it. His back was hurting him a little because he’d pushed himself too hard the day before helping Sophia with a dog, so he couldn’t really muster up more excitement than that. “Can we just get out of here?” he finally asked, biting into his bottom lip. “I just…wanna go somewhere else.”

Nodding, Jensen answered, “Yeah, of course we can go somewhere else, baby. Hey, let’s go to Christian and Steve’s club, all right? They’re not there at the moment, but now that the party is over, they’ll be there soon. We can just tell them that we’re done fighting already and we can have some fun.” When Jared nodded, Jensen smiled, leading Jared to the car and opening the door for him to climb in.

**~~**

The next morning, Donna paid Jensen and Jared a visit, the older woman scolding them for their behavior the night before. “You were both very rude and you embarrassed your father!” she explained, narrowing her eyes at Jensen. She knew that he had been flirting, so she wasn’t going to blame Jared for anything. “I want you to apologize to Allan sometime today, Jensen. And I want all of this fighting the two of you have been doing to stop.”

When Jensen tried to explain that he and Jared were fine now, Donna quickly interrupted, “I don’t want to hear it, Jensen. After last night’s performance, I can see that the two of you clearly need some help. So, I asked Jim if he had any space for new clients, and he does. Your first session is tomorrow morning at nine o’clock sharp. _Don’t_ be late, you two.”

At the mention of Jim’s name, Jensen’s eyes grew to a comical size. Jim Beaver was a long-time friend of the family and one of the greatest marriage counselors in the area. Only about two percent of the couples who sought his guidance actually split up. He was scary good. “But Mom!” Jensen started to complain, only to be cut off by his mother again.

“Jensen, don’t argue with me,” she instructed. “I will not sit back and watch the two of you ruin your marriage because of some low-life like Kerr Smith!” With that, Donna turned her attention to Jared, giving him a small smile before she headed out the door. She knew that bringing Jim into the picture was a bit drastic – especially this early into the marriage and only after a few fights, but she liked Jared _a lot_ and she wanted this to work. Jim could make that happen.

Once Donna was gone, Jared turned to Jensen with a confused expression on his face. “So, who’s Jim and why do we have an appointment with him tomorrow?” Jared asked, noticing that Jensen didn’t look too happy about having an appointment with him.

Rolling his eyes, Jensen explained, “He’s a marriage counselor, Jay. One of the best around.” He really didn’t want to go have a session with Jim. Sure, outside of the office, Jensen didn’t have a problem talking to him, but therapy? It was a little extreme – even for h<>his mother. This was a sign that Jared had grown on Donna – Jared had grown on everyone, including Jensen. There was just something that was so cute about Jared. The younger man was a naturally affectionate person, and he would always hug and kiss Jensen without giving it a lot of thought, which Jensen loved. Of course, he wasn’t going to admit that to anyone other than himself. After all, he and Jared weren’t actually together – not for real, anyway.

Also, another thing he loved about Jared was how the younger man pushed him. Like when he and Jared had gone to the club after the party last night and Jared had made Jensen get his ass up on that stage and sing. Christian had given him a guitar to use as well and Jensen had just kicked back and had fun like he’d done before he was with Kerr. It had been a blast. He never realized just how much he’d given up when he was with Kerr; now he realized how much he missed just having a little bit of fun every now and then. And although he hated to admit it to himself – and would never tell anyone else about it – Jared was the kind of guy that he usually went for. Honestly, sometimes he wondered what he’d seen in Kerr. Maybe it was just the familiarity of it all that had Jensen longing to get him back. Perhaps he and Jared could actually make this work if Jared wanted to. 

Okay, so maybe going to see Jim wasn’t such a bad idea. With any luck, the older man could shed some light on these mixed feelings Jensen was having right now.

A marriage counselor? That sounded a bit too involved for Jared. They weren’t even really together, so what the hell was seeing a marriage counselor going to do for them?! “Isn’t that kind of a waste of time?” he asked, tilting his head to the side. “I mean, we’re not even really together. Won’t he be able to tell that?” Sure, they’d been able to keep Jensen’s parents out of the dark, but a marriage counselor? He was trained to fix marriages – how could he fix something that wasn’t there?

Of course, that was a possibility, but Jensen didn’t want to think about any of that right now. Instead, he needed to get to the airport so he wasn’t late picking up his cousin who was coming into town. Misha had just finished his internship in Europe and now he was moving back home. Unfortunately, he didn’t have a place to stay yet, so he was going to be staying with Donna and Allan. Jensen just had to pick him up and take him over to his parents’ house because they were both at work right now. Leaning in, he pressed a kiss to Jared’s lips, giving his head a small shake. “You worry too much, baby. Just calm down. All we have to do is play it cool and we’ll be in the clear. Now, are you coming with me to get Misha, or not?”

Smiling, Jared nodded, grabbing his jacket and moving towards the door. “Of course I’m coming,” he assured Jensen, scooting past him and heading towards the car, leaving Jensen to lock up the house.


	4. Chapter 4

This was it. Today was the day he was going to finally sit Jensen down and explain to him that he really wanted to be with him. No more of this fake marriage shit and lying to everyone they knew – he wanted to be with Jensen and it was time he told him. During his last session with Jim, they’d rehearsed everything and Jared was ready. Jim hadn’t actually been able to tell Jared that Jensen felt the same way, but he did encourage Jared to be honest with Jensen, so that is what he was going to do.

They’d only had two sessions before Jim realized they were lying through their teeth. Of course, the older man had kept their secret, which they were grateful for. And now he had them in separate rooms when they were in sessions, which let Jared talk more freely than he would if Jensen were around. That was another thing that Jared liked about Jim knowing the truth. For the last few sessions, they’d spent their time talking about how Jared needed to open up and let Jensen know how he really felt. Well, he had planned on doing that tonight.

At least that was until Misha dropped the bomb shell on him.

The original plan had been for Misha to stay with Donna and Allan, but that hadn’t worked out all that well. Josh and Mackenzie had come home for the holidays and there just wasn’t enough room in the house for Misha now. So, Jensen offered to let his cousin stay with him until Misha found a place. Of course, he hadn’t been thinking at the time that would mean he and Jared would have to share a room, but Jared wasn’t complaining about that.

Now though, Jared thought he was going to hyperventilate. He sat there staring at Misha as though he’d just got off a spaceship that flew in from Mars, and he was completely speechless. Misha’s words were still running through his head like a mantra, and he just couldn’t think of anything else. 

_”Jared, I heard you in your room rehearsing a speech that you were going to give Jensen,” Misha had explained. “And I know now – you and Jensen aren’t really married. But I know that you love him and you want to be with him, but please take this into consideration first. I wasn’t going to say anything, but now that I know the truth, I just can’t keep my mouth shut anymore. I like you, Jared --_ a lot _and I want to be with you. So before you give Jensen that speech, just remember that. Jensen’s still in love with Kerr. You need someone who can love you and only you, Jared. I can be that person if you’ll let me. I just wanted you to know that before you spoke with Jensen.”_

Nodding slowly, Jared finally answered, “Okay. Um…thank you for telling me. And…I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell anyone else about mine and Jensen’s situation. We’re um…trying to keep it a secret.” When Misha nodded, Jared returned the gesture, biting into his bottom lip. “And…I know you think Jensen is still in love with Kerr, but I don’t. I mean, there are still feelings there, I’m sure, but I can live with that. If Jensen’s willing to be with me, then I want to be with him too. I’m sorry, Misha.”

Although it wasn’t the answer he was hoping for, Misha wasn’t going to argue with Jared. “Just know that if it doesn’t work out, I’ll be here if you need me,” he smiled, quietly excusing himself from the room. After he’d just made a fool of himself, he really didn’t want to be here anymore. He nearly ran into Jensen on his way out the door, the older man giving his cousin a small glare before he disappeared into his car. Yeah, so what, he was jealous because Jared hadn’t chosen to be with him like he’d wanted. Anyone would have been!

A small frown passed Jensen’s lips when Misha nearly plowed him over on his way out of the house. “What’s wrong with him?” he asked, Jared, tossing his gym bag into the closet where it belonged before he moved towards the couch, leaning in and pressing a deep kiss against Jared’s lips. “Mmm…missed you while you were at work this morning. When did you get home? I thought you were supposed to work until close tonight.”

For a moment, Jared was temporarily taken aback by the kiss, though when he realized Jensen had asked him a question, he quickly recovered. “Um…yeah, I was, but Sophia told me to go home and relax because my back was acting up again,” he explained, feeling heat rushing to his cheeks. He always hated admitting that he wasn’t at his best in front of Jensen – it made him feel weak, although he knew that it shouldn’t have. Jensen had never judged him for his back injuries before, but Jared just hated to think about how he’d gotten them.

Again, Jensen frowned when Jared explained that his back was bothering him. When Jared had first told him about it, Jensen had asked why he didn’t have proper pain pills, and Jared simply explained that he didn’t have the money. So, Jensen had gotten Jared medicine for the pain, and it seemed to be working, but there were still days when Jared had a hard time. Usually, on those days, Jensen would schedule a massage with Danneel, but she was out of town this week. “Did you take a hot shower when you got home?” Jensen asked, knowing that always seemed to help.

At Jensen’s question, Jared nodded. “Yeah, I did. And I took my medicine again, but it didn’t seem to help all that much.” Smiling softly, he slowly shook his head when he saw the concern crossing over Jensen’s features. “Don’t worry about me, Jenny. This happens sometimes, but it always blows over. I’ll just call Danneel when she gets back in town and have her come over if I’m not better. No big deal.”

Jensen didn’t see a reason to wait for Danneel to come back into town for Jared to get his massage. Sure, he may not have been as good as Danneel, but Jensen could hold his own. Before he decided to go to school to be an architect, Jensen had trained to be a sports injury therapist, so he knew his way around a decent massage. Grabbing Jared’s hand, Jensen instructed, “C’mon, follow me. I can give you a massage to make you feel a little better, hopefully.”

When Jensen told him that he was going to give him the massage, Jared’s eyes widened slightly. “You know how to give massages?” he teased, a small smile coming to his lips at the idea of having Jensen’s hands on him. He offered no resistance as Jensen led him into the room they were sharing, Jared quickly moving to sit on the bed as he had been instructed. 

“I can handle my own,” Jensen answered with a small smirk. “But don’t tell anybody. I don’t want to have to start giving massages out to everyone who has a boo-boo.” His smirk became a full-fledged smile when Jared pretended to zip his lips shut and throw away the key – seriously, that shouldn’t have been as cute as it was. “Why don’t you take your shirt off and pull your pants down a little bit? Jensen suggested, rubbing the soothing lotion he kept for this sort of thing into his hands. “The lotion won’t work through your clothes.”

For the second time that day, Jared nearly choked on his own breath. Jensen had never seen him without a shirt on as far as he knew, and Jared really didn’t want to reveal himself to Jensen. When he’d been living with his parents, Jared’s father had inflicted a lot of damage on him, and Jared still wore the scars of his abuse. He really didn’t want to have to go through it all with Jensen right now. “I, um…” he started, wondering if he could just say no and try to distract Jensen by telling him how he really felt. But that didn’t seem like a good plan. After all, his back really did hurt. “Y-Yeah, I guess so,” he finally muttered, biting into his bottom lip as he started to unbutton his shirt.

Once he had his shirt off, letting it slide down his arms and fall into a heap by his feet, Jared unbuttoned his jeans and tugged them down to just below his hips, revealing the white boxer briefs that he had on. God, he felt so damn uncomfortable right now, his arms coming up to cross over his chest in an attempt to hide himself from Jensen’s view.

Honestly, Jensen was a little disappointed when Jared covered his body from his view. He liked looking at Jared, and Jared without his shirt on was an even better view than him with his shirt on. But he knew how self-conscious the younger man could be, so he wasn’t going to push him into showing skin if he really didn’t want to. “Um…you can…lie back down on the bed for me – face down.” When Jared did as he was told, Jensen moved to kneel on the bed beside him, his hands pressing against Jared’s soft, warm, tanned flesh.

As Jensen’s hands slid over Jared’s back, he couldn’t help but focus on the large scar that ran along the younger man’s shoulder blade. There were other scars too, but this one was huge and it looked like whatever happened to him, it must have hurt. Although he knew he didn’t deserve an explanation, Jensen couldn’t help but ask, “What happened to your shoulder blade?” Almost instantly, he regretted the question when Jared tensed up, but it was out there now and he couldn’t take it back no matter how much he wanted to.

This is what Jared had been afraid of. He knew Jensen was going to ask, and Jared hadn’t really wanted to tell him. But if he wanted Jensen to feel the same way as he did, he knew that he was going to have to be honest with him. After all, Jim said that honesty was the key to a good relationship. “My…father did it to me when I was still living with my parents,” he explained, biting into his bottom lip as he waited for Jensen’s reply. 

Hearing that Jared had been abused by his father, he understood now why Jared had his friends pose as his parents for their wedding party. But he let his curiosity get the best of him again, and he had to ask, “What did he do to you?” He couldn’t understand how anyone would want to hurt someone as sweet, caring, and innocent as Jared.

It took all Jared had in him not to tense even further when Jensen asked what his father had done to him. But he was working on the whole honesty thing, so he was going to tell Jensen his story. Slowly, he turned so that he was lying on his back, looking up into Jensen’s warm, green gaze. “When I was younger, I fell out of a tree and seriously injured my back. Well, my parents weren’t very well off, so they didn’t have the money for the surgery I needed. So…my father decided that he was going to perform his own surgery on me.” A tear slowly tracked down Jared’s cheek as he explained what had happened, the younger man quickly wiping it away with the back of his hand. 

Jensen hated seeing Jared cry. And he hated the younger man’s parents even more than he already had in that moment. He would have given anything to meet Gerald Padalecki in a dark alley and show him a piece of his mind. But he knew that wasn’t going to happen, so he was going to settle for the next best thing – comforting Jared. Slowly, he cupped the younger man’s cheek, the warming lotion practically all gone from his hands after rubbing it into Jared’s back, his thumb brushing away another tear that slipped down Jared’s face.

He’d been talking to Jim about his feelings for Jared, and he was finally ready to go ahead with his plans to tell Jared how he felt. Much to his disappointment, however, Jim wouldn’t give him any guidance on where he stood with Jared, so he was taking a shot in the dark here. Gathering up his courage, he leaned in and pressed a soft, chaste kiss on Jared’s lips.

A small gasp escaped Jared’s lips when Jensen kissed him, the younger man giving Jensen a confused look as he tried to process everything. Jensen had just kissed him. Holy shit, that meant that Jensen had to feel something for him, right?! Then again, he had just been crying, so maybe it had been a pity kiss. After all, he and Jensen had kissed before and it hadn’t meant anything. Yeah, that had to be what it was. “Jensen?” he started, giving his head a small shake as he started to sit up. If it didn’t mean anything, then he needed to get out of here for a while. He needed to clear his head.

“I’m sorry,” Jensen quickly apologized, shaking his head as he pulled back from Jared, trying to put as much distance between them without getting off the bed. “That was…wrong of me. I didn’t mean to freak you out. It’s just…you were so sad, and I wanted to make you feel better and explain how I felt about you in the same breath and it just all came out in an action, instead. I’m sorry – it won’t…happen again.”

His head was spinning. So, Jensen really did want him? He said that he wanted to explain his feelings for him, so Jared was taking that as Jensen wanting to be with him. Before Jensen could pull too far back, Jared grabbed his wrist, pulling him close once more so their lips were just a breath apart. “Don’t be sorry,” he whispered softly. “What if…I want it to happen again?”

Without giving Jensen a chance to answer, Jared closed the distance between them, his lips crushing against Jensen’s in a hungry kiss. They could have the conversation they needed to have after they were done kissing because right now, Jared needed this more than he needed to talk to Jensen about their feelings. And Jensen tasted so damn good – it would have been a crime to stop now so they could have a chat.

Although he knew that they should be talking this over right now – figuring out where they stood now that they knew how they felt about one another – Jensen didn’t want to stop kissing Jared. Hell, he could think of a few other things that he wanted to do to Jared right now, too if the younger man was up for it.

Slowly, Jensen pulled back, smiling at the concerned look on Jared’s face. “Don’t look so scared, Jay,” he teased with a small smirk. “You look like you just got dumped at prom, or something.” Again, he pressed a small kiss to Jared’s lips, his smirk widening when Jared groaned in annoyance because Jensen wouldn’t let him deepen the kiss. “We gotta talk – you know that. But…I’d rather wait for the speech. I mean, all we really need to know is that I want to be with you and you want to be with me, right? The rest of it can wait until after. I really just want to push you onto this mattress and make love to you right now.”

Jared’s eyes widened when Jensen boldly told him that he wanted to have sex right now. Sure, that was taking things a little quickly, but it wasn’t like he and Jensen hadn’t been leading up to this with the small touches that lingered a little too long and the deep kisses in public. Sure, they’d said it was all for show, but they both knew the truth deep down. So yeah, Jared had no problem with that plan. “Yeah, we can definitely have this talk later,” he assured Jensen, his hands already moving to unbutton Jensen’s dress shirt.

As Jared unbuttoned his shirt, Jensen watched, mesmerized by the way the younger man’s long fingers worked to open his shirt. It was hot, Jared’s fingers slipping the buttons from their slots in the fabric in a frenzied rush to get to Jensen’s skin. After all, Jensen already had free reign of Jared’s skin, so he supposed that Jared deserved the same luxury. Once all the buttons were undone, Jensen allowed Jared to push the fabric off his shoulders and down his arms, tossing it aside as soon as it was completely off before he crushed his lips against Jared’s once more.

He could kiss Jared all day if he was able to. But he knew that it wasn’t an option because if it was, no one would ever get anything done. Then again, how was he to know if there were other people in this world who felt as strongly about each other as he and Jared did? And if Jared was for kissing Jensen all night, then he would definitely do it. Of course, that would really put a damper on the whole sex thing, so he was willing to hold off on the all night make-out session.

It wasn’t long after his shirt was discarded that he was losing his pants as well. Moving from the bed only long enough to yank off the rest of his clothing and then doing the same with Jared’s before he was back on his younger lover, kissing him wherever he could get his lips.

Hot breath fanned over his ear, letting Jared know where Jensen was. A tongue pressed to his ear, licking up and down the shell, more hot breath tickling his ear and the back of his neck. He gasped as his earlobe was sucked into his lover’s mouth, teeth nibbling softly as that same tongue helped to suck on his lobe. Again, his breath hitched in his chest as his head instinctively turned to the side, giving Jensen better access to his ear and neck, a small gasp escaping him.

He was panting out his breaths as lips began to torture him, trailing kisses down his neck and to his collarbone, sucking the flesh inside that hot mouth. "Ungh…J-Jensen," Jared gasped, clenching his teeth together as he stifled the moan that threatened to tear from his throat. Again, he felt the hot breath fanning over his throat as his lover panted out breaths between heated kisses to his neck, throat and collarbone.

He gasped softly as he felt Jensen’s hands slide over his body, causing shivers to ripple through him. Slightly calloused hands roamed over his chest, fingertips brushing lightly along his toned, well-muscled torso.

A low groan broke out of him as the man above him latched onto his nipple. And to his surprise, he found himself arching into Jensen's mouth, his now semi-hard cock aching for his lover's touch. Usually, he hated it when lovers played with his nipples because he was sensitive and people tended to get a little rough and make him sore for days. But this felt nice.

Taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, he sank down, pushing himself as far away from Jensen as he could. "Don’t stop," he breathed, his chest rising and falling with each panted breath. "Please, I-I need you." The fact that Jensen wasn’t stopping and he seemed to be just as into this as Jared made the younger man's heart swell. It caused a small niggling speck of hope that Jensen wasn’t lying about actually wanting to be with him to shine through just a bit more.

He squeezed his eyes closed as he felt those familiar hands wrap around his weeping cock, pumping him slowly. Hot breath fanned over his lips as he heard his lover speak. "Shhh…m’not stopping, Jay. Just relax and let me take care of this for you," Jensen whispered, softly pressing his lips to Jared’s. He didn't allow the kiss to last long, just a mere light touch before he pulled away, licking his lips as he moaned softly, his wrist pivoting as he continued to stroke Jared.

"Jensen!” Jared groaned, panting as he was overwhelmed by the sweet sensation of having Jensen's hand on his aching cock. Now that he thought there was hope for them, he had no problem enjoying every minute of this. "God, Jen," he moaned, bucking his hips so he could shove his dick into Jensen’s fist harder, fucking his lover's fisted hand as hard and fast as he wanted to.

Jensen moved his free hand to wrap around Jared’s back, slowly trailing down to his lover's ass. His lips met Jared’s again as he reached his destination, long digits groping and kneading the muscular flesh of Jared’s ass. "Mmmm...Jay," he moaned, pulling back and flicking his tongue along the seam of Jared’s lips.

"You're so hot like this, Jared," he whispered, dipping his head so that he could kiss Jared’s neck again. He then kissed Jared’s collarbone, sucking on his flesh softly. As he worked Jared's body with his tongue and lips, Jensen gently opened the younger man's hole with his fingers, starting with just one before he gradually added more, making sure to be careful so that he didn't hurt his younger lover.

Once he knew Jared was ready, Jensen couldn't wait any longer, kissing Jared's lips once more as he whispered, "Wanna be inside you, baby. Right now." Before Jared could say anything, Jensen flipped them, lowering his lover down onto his erect cock, stopping only when he was buried to the hilt inside Jared. He made sure to give Jared a few moments to adjust before he began to move, fucking his lover slowly at first before picking up the tempo a bit, allowing Jared to set the pace for the most part.

Jensen moaned as his cock pushed inside Jared's tight hole. "Ungh....Jay, God, you feel so good, baby," he breathed, barely able to get the sentence out due to his moaning and gasping.

Jared didn't reply to Jensen's comment, too occupied with what he was already doing. He pushed up off the bed, almost pulling completely off Jensen before he slammed back down, thrusting his ass back and forth, setting a brutal pace. It wasn't long before Jared was cumming, hard and hot, his jism shooting out of his cock and splashing onto the bed sheets.

Feeling Jared’s orgasm ripping through him, causing Jared’s inner muscles to clench around him dragged Jensen over the edge as well, the older man moaning Jared’s name as he pumped his cock into Jared’s tight channel, working his way through his orgasm. As he rolled off the younger man, falling onto his back beside Jared, his breaths panting out of him, Jensen honestly couldn’t remember a time when he had cum so hard. Kerr definitely never made him feel like that in the three years they had dated.

Another smile came to Jensen’s lips when Jared rolled onto his side and cuddled up next to him, Jared’s head resting over Jensen’s heart as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. Without thinking about it, Jensen ran his fingers through Jared’s sweat-damp hair, smiling softly down at the younger man. This is what he wanted every day to be like. He wanted to fall asleep with Jared in his arms, completely blissed out after making love. And he knew that he could have it as long as he played his cards right. So, tomorrow, he was going to have a very busy day as far as he was concerned – he just had to keep it a secret from Jared if he could.

**~~**

“So, let me get this straight,” Christian mumbled as he scratched the back of his head, attention turning to Steve for a brief moment before he looked back at Jensen. “You and Jared were never really married? It was all a lie cooked up by him so he could explain why he was living in your house and then you went along with it thinking that you could get Kerr back because he was jealous?” When Jensen nodded, Christian merely shook his head. “Wow, you’re one fucked up individual, Jen.”

Jensen couldn’t help but roll his eyes when Christian insulted him, shooting a glare at Steve when he snorted out a laugh. “Okay, fine, maybe it was a little messed up,” he admitted with a small nod. “But I think it was for the best. It showed me that I don’t want to be with Kerr anymore, and it brought me and Jared together. So, listen to me about this, will ya? I want to actually marry Jared. Now, we’re not supposed to be telling anyone that we’re not married, so this is just going to be us renewing our vows, all right? But I want it to be perfect, and I think you guys can help me with that.”

Seeing that his friends were clearly confused, Jensen explained, “I want to throw a party here. Nothing huge – just friends and family getting together to celebrate mine and Jared’s relationship. And I want to do it no later than Friday. Can we swing that? I’m…gonna propose to Jared.” Earlier that morning, he had gone to a high end jewelry store and purchased Jared a wedding band. It was nothing fancy – a simple silver band with the words _J2 forever_ engraved on the inside. He knew Jared was going to love it.

A wide smile came to Steve’s lips when Jensen revealed the news that he was going to be proposing to Jared. God, it was all so cute, and Steve loved Jared, so it was perfect! And to have it done at their little club – that was even more perfect! Without even consulting Christian, Steve giddily answered, “Of course we can swing that! You and Jared are welcome to have an engagement party here any time you want! Is there anything we can do to help you get things ready? I mean, we’re not opening tonight because we have dinner plans, but after we can get decorations, or something if you need us to.”

Now, it was Jensen’s turn to smile. He pretty much had everything that he needed, but he hadn’t told anyone about the party yet, so they could definitely help with that. After all, Steve and Christian were _very_ big on flyers. “You guys can actually make flyers and hang them up outside of the club, if you want to. And I need you to get in touch with Jared’s friends from the party a few weeks back – Jeffrey Dean and Samantha. I definitely want them to be there. And if they know anyone else who Jared’s close to, I want them to invite them too.”

This next thing was going to be the hard part. But Christian had connections at the police department, and Jensen was confident that he could get some help on that front. “Also…Chris, I was kind of hoping that you could ask some of your cop friends if they could find someone for me. She would be in the system – a foster child. She’s about seventeen now, and her name is Megan Padalecki – Jared’s sister. I want her to be there, too.”

If for nothing else, Christian knew that he could count on Jensen to make his life exciting. It would be a challenge to find someone who was in the foster care system because for all they knew, she was living happily ever after with a new family. Of course, that didn’t mean it was impossible. And Christian was determined to help Jensen make this the best damn party Jared had ever been too, so he wasn’t going to stop looking until he knew there was no hope. “Yeah, I can ask around,” he assured his friend. “But don’t get your hopes up. The guys I know aren’t miracle workers. I mean, they’re good, don’t get me wrong, but they can’t work miracles.”

After a few beers and a little more planning for the party, Jensen was feeling pretty good as he walked out of the club. He had the ring, a location for the party, all the decorations he could stand, and his best friends knew his secret and they were still willing to help him plan the party. Hell, they were even _encouraging_ him. There was really nothing that could turn this day upside down for him. Even if rain started pouring down on his parade, it still wouldn’t make him mad.

As he drove back to his house, Jensen sang along with the music, belting it out and even tapping on his steering wheel as he did. It was strange feeling this way – relaxed without a care in the world. He’d taken a few weeks of much needed vacation from work and his next job was to find a nice honeymoon spot for himself and Jared. Jensen always liked the beach, but he was willing to talk over ideas with Jared after he’d proposed. Or maybe he’d ask Steve – he seemed to know where the hottest honeymoon spots were. And he had a friend who owned the Air Lines, so he could probably help him get a good deal on a flight, too.

By the time Jensen pulled into the driveway, Jared was already home. It was strange because the younger man was supposed to be working until late that evening, though Jensen surely wasn’t complaining. He was more than happy to have Jared home with him so they could spend time together. After all, when they got to spend time together, usually kissing was involved, and Jensen surely wasn’t going to pass up that kind of opportunity.

Continuing to whistle as he walked into the house, Jensen called, “Honey, I’m home!” However, the sight that greeted him when he walked in was enough to blow his previous thought about nothing ruining his happy mood today right out of the water. “What the hell?” he asked, brows knit in confusion as he stared at what he had just come home to.


	5. Chapter 5

“Jensen, hi,” Jared greeted, smiling widely at the older man. “I, um, wasn’t expecting you to be home until later this evening.” He wasn’t complaining that Jensen was home early, of course, but if Jensen had been home when he said he would have been, this wouldn’t have happened. Jared wouldn’t be standing in the middle of their living room trying to come up with an explanation for this that wouldn’t make Jensen freak out. After all, when they had first started to get to know each other, Jensen had been very clear that he didn’t have pets and he never would because he didn’t have time to properly take care of them. Well, Jared was hoping that he could persuade Jensen to change his mind.

His brain wasn’t working right now – it was playing tricks on him, or something. Surely, there was no way that Jared was standing in the living room with two dogs lying on the couch. It just wasn’t something that Jensen was willing to believe. They’d had this discussion, after all – they just didn’t have time for pets. Jared was always working at the clinic, and Jensen was working on his projects a lot. Nowhere in their time budget did pets fit in. And they were both fine with that.

At least that’s what Jensen thought, but here he was with dogs in his living room making themselves at home on his furniture. “What the hell?” he asked again, those three words seeming to be the only things that could form in his head right now. Jared had some serious explaining to do, and Jensen was eager to hear what he had to say.

It was obvious that Jensen wasn’t taking this too well. But Jared hadn’t been able to restrain himself when Sophia asked for his help. “I know what you’re thinking,” Jared started, moving closer to Jensen with a small smile on his lips. “But this was really important, Jen. The owners brought them in to be euthanized, and Sophia didn’t want to do it, so she asked the owners if I could take them home. Well, they said yes and here I am.”

Again, Jared smiled at Jensen, taking the older man’s hands in his own. “They’re not even that old, Jen,” he explained, giving his lover his famous puppy-dog eyes that Jensen always complained about. “And the only reason they were going to be put down was because the owner was moving to a new place that didn’t allow animals and he couldn’t find another home for them. I couldn’t just sit by and let that happen. I mean, look at them, Jenny. They’re so cute.”

He had to admit that the dogs were cute – on his furniture and probably leaving little black and brown hairs – but cute nonetheless. And he had to admit that he wouldn’t have wanted them to be euthanized just because the owner was an asshole, so he couldn’t really get mad. Plus, the eyes Jared were using on him was something that he couldn’t really say no to, and Jared knew it. He was so cheating, but Jensen just didn’t have it in him to scold Jared. “All right, I get it,” he finally mumbled, leaning in and pressing his lips to Jared’s. “They can stay. But they better not go to the bathroom on anything in the house.”

Quickly, Jared shook his head, smiling at Jensen. “Don’t worry, they’re completely potty trained according to the owner.” He grabbed Jensen’s arms and pulled the older man into a deep, passionate kiss before he could think about it. Jared couldn’t help it. Jensen had allowed him to have dogs and Jared loved him for it. Of course, he wasn’t going to tell Jensen that because they didn’t actually use that word yet. Sure, Jared felt it and he thought Jensen felt the same way, but he wasn’t going to say it and make a fool of himself in case Jensen didn’t feel the same way. 

A small smile came to Jensen’s lips as he pulled back from the kiss, his hand working its way between their bodies to stroke a finger over the collar of Jared’s shirt. “How about we leave them alone for a few minutes and go to our room?” he suggested, smirking when realization clearly flashed over Jared’s features. 

They didn’t spend any more time talking about the dogs as Jensen walked Jared back to their room. Stripping him out of his clothing as they moved towards the bed, Jensen pushed Jared down onto the mattress and quickly followed after him. He didn’t waste any time once Jared’s clothes were off, pushing the younger man onto the bed and crushing their lips together. Jared gladly helped Jenson remove his clothes so they were both naked and could get to the fun part. Jensen gladly helped Jared remove his clothes then so that they were both naked so they could get to the fun part. Again, their lips locked, Jensen’s tongue pressing into Jared’s mouth and exploring the hot, wet cavern.

As the kiss continued, Jared moaned into Jensen’s mouth, his back arching off the mattress so he could get closer to Jensen. He whimpered softly when Jensen growled into his mouth, his lover’s hands moving to stroke his back, short, blunt nails scratching down the length of Jared’s back. Jared hissed softly in a mixture of pain and pleasure, knowing there would be red scratches going down his back from Jensen’s semi-rough treatment and he liked that. “Oh God Jensen,” he groaned softly, breaths panting out against his lover’s kiss-swollen lips. 

A wide smile came to Jensen’s lips as Jared groaned and writhed under him, the older man loving how his lover reacted to his touches and how damn responsive he was. “You like that Jared?” he asked, teeth scraping against the younger man’s jaw before he started attacking Jared’s neck, knowing how much Jared loved it when he gave his neck any kind of attention. Again, he smiled when Jared nodded, his lover nearly whimpering with need. “Bet you want more, huh?” he asked, hips gently thrusting against Jared’s ass cheek, letting Jared feel how hard he was for him. “This is all for you, baby. You want it?”

Fighting the urge to roll his eyes when Jensen asked if he wanted him, Jared nodded quickly without giving it a moment’s thought. “Of course I want it,” he assured Jensen, head pressing back into the pillow to offer more of his neck up to Jensen. “Want you, babe…so much. You know that I do.” At least Jared hoped that Jensen knew that. After all, he’d been very open about his need for Jensen since they started having sex. “Please Jen…don’t keep me waiting. Just…make love to me right now.” 

Smiling widely once more, Jensen whispered, “I do know that you want me. I just like hearing you beg for me.” He groaned in pleasure when Jared begged even more; Jensen was starting to think that maybe he had a kink. But that wasn’t important right now; he needed to give Jared what he wanted. He needed to make sure he kept his lover happy just like Jared kept him happy. If he couldn’t manage that, then he was useless and he didn’t deserve someone like Jared. Not that he was under the misconception that he deserved him anyway. “Right now?” he asked, smiling again as he reached into the top drawer of the nightstand and pulled out the lube. “Gotta wait a little longer, lover. Don’t wanna hurt you.”

“You’re not gonna hurt me, Jensen,” Jared assured him with a small shake of his head. “How many times have we done this before? I think I can – ungh – handle it.” They had been going at it like bunnies this past week, after all. His eyes nearly rolled back in his head when Jensen pushed his index finger past the tight ring of muscles, Jared’s hips arching off the bed slightly to offer Jensen better access. 

Slowly, Jensen moved his lube-slicked finger in and out of Jared’s tight pucker, giving his head a small shake at Jared’s insistence that he could handle this without the proper preparation. “I’m not gonna chance it,” he argued with another shake of his head as he crooked his finger inside Jared, smiling when he got the reaction he was looking for. “Besides, foreplay is half the fun.” He added another finger as if to prove his point, smiling when Jared moaned and arched against him. “See?”

Although he loved Jensen, he hated that the older man was always right; and Jensen knew he was always right too, which made it so much worse. “Aren’t you arrogant?” he asked with a small smile, letting the other man know he was just teasing. He actually kind of loved that Jensen was so arrogant because it was the exact opposite of how Jared acted. It made his life a lot more exciting. “Just get on with it Jensen; I wanna feel you inside me so bad.”

Normally, Jensen would have made Jared wait because he liked to torture the younger man by giving him as much pleasure as possible, but with the way Jared was begging, Jensen just couldn’t bring himself to drag this out much longer. “Okay baby, I’ll give you what you want now, but next time, I’m not going to be so giving.” Pulling his fingers from Jared’s hole, Jensen quickly lubed up his cock and pressed at his lover’s entrance. 

When Jensen pressed his dick against him, Jared moaned, pressing back against his lover in an attempt to make Jensen go faster. He wanted Jensen inside him so badly, he could almost cry because Jensen was making him wait so long. Another deep moan escaped between his parted lips as Jensen pushed into him, the younger man biting into his bottom lip as his head pressed back into the mattress, his eyes squeezed closed in pleasure. 

Once he was sheathed fully inside Jared, Jensen stopped moving, letting the younger man get used to the intrusion. He didn’t care how many times Jared insisted that he could handle him; he wasn’t going to move too fast and hurt Jared. Instead, he kissed the younger man to stifle his arguments and pleas for Jensen to move, tongue pressing past both lips and teeth to battle with Jared’s own, a small moan escaping him only to be swallowed up in the kiss. 

Of course, Jensen knew that wasn’t going to distract Jared long, so he gradually started to move his hips, letting Jared get adjusted further while at the same time giving him exactly what he wanted. A small smile came to his lips when Jared moaned and pushed back against him, meeting him thrust for thrust. Meanwhile, his lips trailed a hot line of kisses from Jared’s lips down his jaw line to his neck, Jensen teasing the sensitive flesh there because he knew Jared loved it.

As Jensen continued to tease him, Jared moaned softly, head turning to the side to offer up more of his neck to Jensen’s attention. “Ungh…Jen, please…more babe, please?” Jared begged, fingers digging into Jensen’s back where he was holding onto him now as his ass pressed back against Jensen’s hips, silently begging Jensen to give him more, hoping the verbal and the silent pleas would get him what he wanted. He was all for foreplay and teasing some nights, but not when he wanted this so damn badly he couldn’t think of anything else.

Before Jared had a chance to beg anymore, Jensen quickly yanked him off the bed and into his lap, figuring he could let Jared lead for a little while since he seemed to know what he wanted and just how he wanted it. Besides, he kind of liked the idea of letting Jared ride his dick; he’s been thinking about it for a while now, but the opportunity just hadn’t presented itself. Well, now was the perfect opportunity as far as he was concerned.

Jared didn’t hesitate once Jensen had pulled him into his lap, the younger man quickly maneuvering his legs around so that he was straddling Jensen before he crushed their lips together. As he kissed Jensen, Jared used the grip he now had on his lover’s shoulders to push himself off Jensen’s dick, using his knees to help ease the movement as his thighs squeezed Jensen’s hips. At the rate he was going, he knew there was no way either of them was going to last long, but he didn’t care. The end result was going to be the same; they were going to get what they both wanted and it was going to feel great.

“J-Jen,” Jared breathed, his breaths stuttering out of him with each jab of Jensen’s dick against his prostate. “M’gonna cum,” he whispered, wanting to let Jensen know when he was ready because it was so much better when they reached their climax together. “Oh God babe, m’gonna cum. Please…cum with me.”

Hearing Jared beg him to cum like that had Jensen stumbling over the edge just as Jared did, his seed filling Jared and seeping out past his cock as Jared’s own cum coated his stomach and even splashed onto his chest a little. His forehead dropped down to rest against Jared’s shoulder as his breaths panted out of him, Jared having successfully worn him out, which didn’t happen often. Slowly, Jensen rolled onto his side, pulling Jared down with him as he moaned softly with content. “You were amazing baby,” he whispered, pressing his lips against Jared’s lovingly. “Not that I didn’t already know that.”

A small chuckle escaped Jared when Jensen told him he was amazing, the younger man giving his head a small shake. “Yeah, you had some moves all of your own, too,” he smirked, snuggling up against Jensen, tucking his face into the crook of Jensen’s neck where his scent was the strongest before he closed his eyes. “M’tired,” he mumbled.

As soon as Jared’s face was pressed into the crook of his neck, Jensen immediately began combing his fingers through his lover’s hair, smiling softly when Jared told him he was tired. “Get some sleep baby. We have time to nap before we have to make dinner. I was just thinking about ordering pizza and having a fun night in, or something, anyway,” Jensen explained, smiling softly down at his lover’s sleeping features. Yeah, he was definitely in love – there was nothing that he could do now to try to convince himself otherwise. He didn’t want Kerr anymore – he had everything he wanted right here and now, sleeping in his arms.

**~~**

Jensen frowned softly as he glanced at the door, wondering who would be knocking at this hour. Jared had gone out to rent a movie, but he sure as hell wouldn’t knock before he came into the house. Giving Sadie one last pat on the head, Jensen pushed himself from the chair, moving towards the door and pulling it open. He frowned when he saw Kerr standing on the other side, crossing his arms over his chest. Jensen had no idea what Kerr could possibly want, but he wasn’t sure he cared either.

The last time he’d seen Kerr had been at a restaurant he and Jared had gone to. Jensen had gotten up to go to the bathroom, and when he came back out to their table, Jared was pushing Kerr away from him and screaming at him for kissing him. Needless to say, Jensen had gotten pissed off and started in on Kerr. That possessive streak that he tried so hard to keep hidden came out, and if Jared hadn’t pulled him away from Kerr, Jensen was sure the other man would have gotten himself hit. 

They ended up getting Chinese take-out and eating in that evening. It was one of the best evenings Jensen could remember having in his life. 

“What do you want, Kerr?” Jensen finally asks, not even trying to put any emotion behind his tone. The other man didn’t deserve any emotion from Jensen. He knew that Kerr had been trying to break him and Jared up that night – the truth is, it only made them stronger, so he supposed he did owe Kerr a thank you for that one. 

The ice in Jensen’s voice was hard to miss, causing Kerr to frown. Obviously, Jensen was still pissed off because he’d kissed Jared in that restaurant while Jensen was in the bathroom. His plan to have it break the two men up didn’t really work out all that well, which had pissed him off, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to continue to try. After all, he and Jensen had something special before he broke it off, and he wasn’t going to just let Jared swoop in and take Jensen from him.

When people say that you don’t realize a good thing until it’s gone, they aren’t lying. Now that he and Jensen weren’t together anymore, Kerr finally realized how much he liked being with Jensen. And sure, when they had been together, he’d cheated on Jensen once or twice, but that didn’t matter now. He wanted them to have a clean slate; to just start over. But in order to make that happen, Kerr knew that he was going to need to get Jared out of the picture first. And he knew just how he was going to manage that one.

But Kerr isn’t about to let Jensen’s bitter tone stop him from going after what he wants. After all, Kerr was an only child, so his parents spoiled him; therefore, he’s used to getting what he wants. And right now, Kerr wants to be with Jensen again. It wasn’t like the first time around was so horrible. Besides, Kerr would rather be miserable with Jensen than let Jared have him because Kerr had him first, dammit! Not to mention that the man was a fucking God in bed! That was one thing that Kerr really missed.

Shrugging, Kerr finally answered, “I came to apologize for what I did at the restaurant.” The lie slips off his tongue easily enough, though he’s not quite convinced that Jensen’s buying it. He’ll just have to do better. Luckily, he came prepared to do better because it would have been stupid of him just to think that Jensen was going to believe him about wanting to apologize for something he felt no remorse for.

Throughout his years, Kerr learned that alcohol generally helped to break the ice a little bit. Holding up the six pack he’d brought over, he explained, “I brought beer. I figured we could sit down and just…talk about what happened the other night. And I wanted to apologize to Jared, too. He didn’t deserve to be pulled into this because I was trying to make you jealous.” Looking around the parts of the house that were visible from his place in the doorway, Kerr asked, “So, where is Jared?”

Well, it was obvious that he wasn’t going to get rid of Kerr without at least hearing what he had to say, so Jensen grabbed the beer and moved out of the way so Kerr could walk in. “He’s not here right now,” Jensen explained. “He went out to pick up a movie to watch tonight, not that it’s any of your business.” Plopping down on the couch, Jensen opened one of the bottles, taking a long swig as he waited for Kerr to start with the apology speech.

It was painfully obvious that Jensen was still pissed off at him, but Kerr wasn’t going to let it get to him. He had plans for this evening and as Jensen started in on his first beer, Kerr had to hold back his smile. “I only kissed him because I was jealous, you know that right?” Kerr started, biting into his bottom lip as he glanced at Jensen from under his brows. “Seeing the two of you so happy together just made me mad, and I wanted you to be miserable with me. So, I thought that kissing Jared would make you break up with him, but I guess I was wrong.”

He frowned when Jensen snorted out a laugh, Kerr wondering what was so funny about that logic. At the time, it had seemed like an excellent plan. Unfortunately, he’d been wrong about that, but this time he thought he had it down. “I can see now that you and Jared are happy together, and I wish the two of you the best.” Of course, that was a load of bullshit, but Jensen didn’t have to know that, either. “And I want to tell Jared how sorry I am too, so what do you say we sit here, have a few beers, and wait for him?”

Although Jensen really didn’t want to be here alone with Kerr, he was never able to say no to the offer of alcohol. Of course, he knew that he could just take the beer and kick Kerr out, but he didn’t want to be rude. If Kerr was serious about wanting to apologize to Jared, then he was sure that his younger lover would want to hear it. “Fine,” Jensen answered, grabbing another beer after he took the last swig of his. “But don’t take this as something it’s not, Kerr. I’m only letting you stay here and wait for Jared because I think you owe him an apology. It has nothing to do with me wanting to spend time with you.”

**~~**

After all of the beer was gone, Jared still wasn’t home, though Jensen was way past drunk to even notice. Kerr was taking advantage of the other man’s drunkenness, smiling as he scooted a bit closer to Jensen. “You know, Jen, I didn’t come over here to apologize to Jared,” he finally admitted, knowing that Jensen was way past caring. “I came over here so I could be with you. I wanted to tell you how badly I missed you and how much I want to be with you again.” Pressing his hand against Jensen’s chest, he whispered, “And you want to be with me, too, don’t you Jen? I mean, you remember how good we were together, don’t you?”

Jensen could only manage a small, very manly, giggle when Kerr touched him. He had no idea what was going on right now, and he just wanted to go to bed. But the touch felt nice. Jared always touched him like this when he wanted something from him, and Jensen was more than willing to give his lover anything he wanted. In his drunken mind, Jensen couldn’t really remember the difference – who was here, who was touching him – everything just blended together and only left the throbbing of his cock as lips pressed against his own, making him moan with pleasure.

“Jared,” he whispered softly as the kiss broke, licking his lips and noticing that it wasn’t the same taste as it had been over the last few months. Something was off about it. The slight hint of cigarette smoke and beer confused Jensen. After all, Jared didn’t smoke, and he only drank every now and then because he was a total lightweight. Jensen always made fun of him for it, but really he thought it was kind of cute.

Shaking his head, Kerr explained, “Jared’s not here right now, Jensen. It’s just me and you.” Quickly, Kerr rolled off the couch and situated himself between Jensen’s legs, leaning up to crush their lips together once more. Roughly, his hand clawed down Jensen’s torso through the other man’s shirt, moaning into the kiss. “Wanna get these clothes off you,” he mumbled against Jensen’s lips. “Wanna feel all of you like we used to when we were together.” 

Again, Jensen mumbled Jared’s name, causing Kerr to roll his eyes. Even when he was drunk Jensen couldn’t get that annoying, freakishly tall man off his mind. “No Jen, it’s me, Kerr. You want to be with me now. Don’t worry, Jared doesn’t have to know yet. We can keep it a secret for as long as you want as long as I’m the only one you take to bed.” His fingers quickly worked the buttons on Jensen’s shirt, popping them open and instantly smoothing over the newly exposed tanned flesh.

Just as Kerr unbuttoned Jensen’s jeans and sucked his nipple into his mouth, the door opened, Jared’s eyes widening at the scene playing out before him. “Oh God,” he gasped, tears filling his eyes as he stared at Jensen. He couldn’t be here right now. Not after this. What the hell was he going to say to Jensen after walking in on this?! He’d thought that Jensen was over Kerr, but apparently, he’d been wrong. Jensen wasn’t over Kerr – he had just wanted to play with Jared, he supposed.

Without another word, Jared turned and ran out of the house, leaving the door open as the movie slid from his numb fingers and clunked on the hardwood floors. He felt sick. Nothing was making sense to him other than the fact that his lover had just been cheating on him with his ex-boyfriend. Then again, Jared supposed that Jensen finally got what he wanted – he was back with Kerr, so maybe that’s all that mattered. Maybe Jensen thought Jared hadn’t been acting well enough and he had to make Jared fall in love with him for real in order to sell their lies.

When Jensen heard Jared’s soft gasp, he was immediately sober. Holy hell, what the fuck was he doing?! And Kerr wasn’t stopping. Even after Jared came in here and saw them, Kerr was just continuing with what he’d been doing like nothing had happened. Angrily, Jensen shoved Kerr away from him, buttoning his pants back up as he ran out the door after his lover. “Jared, wait!” he called, grabbing the younger man’s elbow and forcing him to stop walking away from him. “Please, baby, just let me explain!”

Roughly, Jared yanked his arm out of Jensen’s grasp. “Let you explain what?!” he yelled, shaking his head. “That you now have what you wanted all along, so we’re over? Don’t bother Jensen, I can figure that out for myself!” He tried to walk away again, but he was grabbed by Jensen once more, Jared pulling away without even thinking about it. “Stop it! I don’t want to hear your excuses about how you’re drunk so this isn’t your fault. I don’t care, Jensen! Just leave me alone. It’s over; we’re done.” Shaking his head, a single tear falling from his eye, Jared concluded, “I’ll be by to pick up my stuff sometime later.”

As Jared walked away, Jensen felt his heart shattering into a million tiny pieces. He had no idea how this had even happened. One second he was waiting for Jared to get home so they could have a romantic night in front of the fire while they watched a movie of Jared’s choosing, and then the next, Jared was walking out on him. Slowly, his head hung and his shoulders slumped over, Jensen walked back into the house, allowing the door to swing closed behind him. When he saw Kerr standing there with a wide smirk on his face, it all came together for Jensen.

That was the last straw. “You planned this,” he accused, knowing right off the bat that he was right. There was no way Kerr had just ended up here conveniently when Jared wasn’t home with a six pack of beer. This was all planned! Anger boiled inside Jensen as he walked closer to Kerr and let his fist fly, catching the other man with a solid right hook that sent Kerr crashing to his knees. “Get the hell out of my house.”

His movements were slow as he stood, Kerr giving his head a small shake as he reached for Jensen, frowning when the other man took a step back. “Jen, you know that this is for the best. You and Jared weren’t right for each other. Eventually, it would have ended anyway. But you and I have something here; we were so good together. I’m willing to forget everything else and be with you again.”

Taking a chance, Kerr moved towards Jensen again, smiling softly at his former boyfriend. “Please, Jenny?” he begged. “It can be just like old times. You, me, and our careers to keep us warm at night. I mean, I’m even willing to get married if that’s what you still want. And we can live together here like a happy couple. It’ll be perfect. What do you say, hm?”

“Don’t call me that!” Jensen angrily scolded, moving away from Kerr once more. “I don’t want to be with you anymore! Don’t you get it, Kerr?! I was with Jared because I was over you! I was done! You broke up with me, remember? When I proposed to you! I was ready to marry you, and you shot me down. So I found someone else to love, and he loved me back! And you just ruined all of that with your manipulative ways. Who the hell do you think you are?!” He was tempted to punch Kerr again, but he knew that wouldn’t solve anything. All it would do was make him feel a little better for about ten minutes. Instead, he walked over to his door and yanked it open. “Get out of my house,” he repeated. “ _Now._ ”

Although he had hoped this would go a much different way, Kerr wasn’t going to push his luck when Jensen was this upset. Maybe after a few days had passed, he’d try again, but right now he wasn’t going to get anywhere. Any fool could tell that. So he walked towards the door with his head hung, acting as though he actually believed every word Jensen had said. He knew the other man would come around. After all, Jensen wasn’t the type who could function alone. Jensen needed to be with someone – he was a hopeless romantic like that. Before he left, Kerr touched Jensen’s arm, not worrying about the way Jensen pulled away as though he had been burned. “If you change your mind, Jen, the offer still stands. You know where to find me.”

Almost before Kerr was even fully out the door, Jensen slammed it shut. He couldn’t believe the nerve that man had. Actually, he could – Kerr had always been an ass, and Jensen had just been too in love to see it. But now he knew the truth, and he wasn’t going to make the same mistake twice. He wasn’t that stupid. Sighing, he slowly slid down the door, falling on his ass as he banged his head against the heavy frame. God, he was such an idiot! And now, he was all alone. Jared wouldn’t listen to him, and in one swift, idiotic move, he’d lost the one person in this world he cared the most about.

Tears slipped down his cheeks silently as Jensen realized what had just happened. And if he took comfort in the fact that Harley and Sadie were there to keep him company and offer their furry shoulders for him to cry on, Jensen didn’t let himself dwell on that information too long as he sobbed into their soft coats.


	6. Chapter 6

** TWO MONTHS LATER **

Jensen sighed as he walked out of his office, not sure how he felt about his new assignment. Sure, it was going to bring in a lot of money, but Jensen really didn’t care about that. What did interest him though was the promotion that had been offered to him. He’d known one day that he’d make partner, but he hadn’t thought that it would be this soon. Apparently, if he nailed this job, he was going to be making history.

Still, Jensen wasn’t confident that he could do this job. After all, he hadn’t spoken to Kerr since the night Jared left him, so he had no clue what he could expect. For all he knew, this was some ploy to get him back. If that was the case, then Jensen really didn’t think he could take on this job, and he’d just have to wait for the next promotion opportunity. There was no way he was getting back with Kerr that was for sure – he’d ruined Jensen’s life. 

Before that night, Jensen had been happy. And it had been a long time since he could remember ever being that happy. Sure, when he had been with Kerr, Jensen _thought_ he’d been happy – but being with Jared showed him just how wrong he had been. For the last two months, Jensen had been miserable, and Kerr specifically asking for him as a lead man on this job only made everything worse because Jensen knew it was some sort of trap. He’d get him into this project and then he’d try something, and that would be it; the company would lose the money they were going to get on this job and Jensen would lose his promotion, and even possibly his job. 

But he didn’t care. He’d rather be unemployed than have to stoop low enough to date Kerr Smith again. After all, Jared wasn’t the only one he’d lost that night Kerr had shown up at his house. Once his family caught wind of Jared and Jensen’s break up, they gave him the cold shoulder. His mother was so upset that she cried and was now talking with one of her therapist friends because she was so upset. She of course blamed Jensen for her downward spiral. And even his friends were pissed at him – especially Steve. Jensen was convinced that the only reason he was allowed at the club anymore was because he and Christian had been friends since they were in diapers.

As he pulled out of the parking lot, Jensen dialed Kerr’s number, rolling his eyes at the other man’s obnoxious ring back tone. When Kerr answered the phone, Jensen couldn’t help but groan in disgust at the pure sex that was dripping from the other man’s tone. Yeah, like Jensen was ever going to go there again. “Meet me at my place in thirty minutes so we can go over the plans for your new addition,” he instructed, making sure to keep his voice cold so Kerr knew this was just business. “I need to know what you’re planning before I can start the drawings.”

He didn’t give Kerr a chance to answer before he hung up the phone, speeding down the highway towards his house. Jensen stopped at a coffee shop on the way, knowing he’d need a little pick-me-up before he had to deal with Kerr this evening. Of course, he knew coffee probably wasn’t going to be enough, but it was definitely a start. He just had to make sure he let Kerr know there was no chance of anything happening before he let him into his house. And if the other man had beer, he definitely wasn’t opening the door. That had been the thing to get him in trouble the last time.

When he walked into the shop, he nearly tripped over his own feet when he saw Jared sitting at one of the booths. God, he looked good. Jensen just wanted to go over there and wrap his arms around him – he wanted to feel Jared’s muscular body against his own and kiss his soft lips like they’d used to do before that one awful night. And he was about to go talk to him when Misha sat down across from Jared with a big smile on his lips. It figured he and Jared were together now. Jensen was such a fucking idiot!

Jensen had found out that Jared and Misha were living together about three weeks ago. He’d seen Misha getting take-out from one of Jared’s favorite restaurants, and Jensen had gone over to talk to him. That had been when he learned of Misha’s huge crush on Jared; needless to say, they started fighting right there in the middle of the street. Misha had really thrown Jensen through the ringer when he assured Jensen that he was blind for not loving Jared. If he was going to cheat on someone like Jared and not love him like he deserved to be loved, then Misha was damn well going to try to give Jared what he needed.

Honestly though, Jensen didn’t think they would have lasted this long. Not that he had anything against Misha, but he just wasn’t Jared’s type as far as Jensen was concerned; he was the exact opposite of Jensen. Maybe it was the money? Jensen heard that Jared finally got Megan back, and although she was now eighteen and she wasn’t living with Jared, Misha had set her up in a nice apartment of her own. That had to be why Jared and Misha were still together, Jensen was sure of that.

But that didn’t mean there was no way for Jensen to get Jared back. He hadn’t really realized how much he wanted to be with Jared still until now. Seeing Jared brought back all of those memories that he’d been trying to bury and forget. Now they were all coming to the surface, and Jensen was determined to get Jared back. 

Watching as Jared got out of his booth and headed towards the bathroom, Jensen knew this was his chance to get some privacy with the younger man, so he quickly followed him. Of course, this was going to put him behind schedule, but he didn’t care about that. Kerr could wait for him in the driveway when he got there – Jared was _way_ more important to him now. If he let Jared out of his sight, he knew there was a chance he wasn’t going to see him for another two months, and Jensen just couldn’t let that happen.

Once they were both in the bathroom and Jensen determined that they were the only two in there, Jensen threw the lock into place, his breath quickening when he noticed that Jared had gone into one of the stalls. That was just like Jared – he was always freaked out by the fact that someone could watch him while he did his business. The younger man loved his privacy, not that Jensen could blame him. He wasn’t particularly fond of the idea of someone else watching him take a leak, either.

It only took a moment for Jared to come out of the stall, and Jensen did try to make it look casual as he bumped into Jared. “Wow, Jared, hi!” he greeted, subtly blocking the door so Jared wouldn’t notice that he’d locked it. “I didn’t know you came to this coffee shop. I thought you hated coffee unless it had mounds of sugar in it.”

Jared’s eyes widened when he saw that Jensen had been the man he bumped into. It had been months since he’d seen him, and Jared liked it that way. He wasn’t ready to see Jensen yet, even if he’d spent every night since he left crying himself to sleep and wishing that Jensen was holding him close while he slept. “Um…I just…ask for extra sugar packets,” Jared explained, biting into his bottom lip as he stared at the ground, making sure he didn’t make eye contact. If he looked into those hypnotic green eyes, he knew he would be screwed.

“Oh, yeah, duh, that makes sense,” Jensen chuckled, frowning when he noticed Jared wasn’t looking at him. “Anyway…how have you been?” If he could get Jared into a conversation, Jensen knew that he could get the upper hand here. All he needed was to get the right topic started and he would have Jared coming over to his house in no time. Of course, that would mean that he would be ditching Misha, but Jensen wasn’t all that concerned about that. After all, he’d had Jared first. Not to mention that he and Jared were so much more compatible than Jared and Misha.

All he could manage was a small smile at Jensen’s answer, Jared was just trying to think of a way out of here. Now wasn’t the time to have a conversation with Jensen; especially not in the men’s room of a coffee shop that Jared wasn’t even particularly fond of! However, he quickly realized that Jensen was determined to talk, so he knew he had to give in. “I’ve been okay,” he explained with a small shrug. “How about you?” That’s when the eye contact was made, and Jared was right – he was definitely screwed. 

It felt really good to look into Jared’s champagne hazel eyes after so long. Jensen barely held back his urge to pull Jared into a hug. But that would have been inappropriate at this point. He’d have plenty of time for hugs later. Shaking his head, Jensen explained, “I haven’t really been all that great.” He dared a step forward, his hands resting on Jared’s upper arms as he locked gazes with Jared before he continued, “I’ve missed you. I tried to call you like a hundred times when you left, and you wouldn’t return any of my calls. Not that I blame you. I mean, seeing me with Kerr like that was wrong. But you have to understand that I wasn’t doing anything with him. He got me drunk and I didn’t even know what was going on. Kerr told me that he came over to apologize to you for kissing you, so I let him in. I didn’t know he was going to try to seduce me!”

His arms tingled where Jensen touched him, but Jared shook him off anyway. He couldn’t let himself be sucked back in. “I don’t care, Jensen,” he assured the older man with a small shake of his head. “What’s done is done; we can’t change the past. I just…I can’t forget what I saw.” Quickly, Jared tried to move past Jensen, but Jensen stopped him by stepping in front of him. “Please get out of my way,” he calmly said, fists clenched at his sides. “I have to be at work soon, and I’d like to finish my coffee first.”

Although Jensen didn’t want to let Jared go, he knew he had to. But he wasn’t going to let him go without a fight. “Come over later tonight Jared,” he suggested, trying to act calm on the outside, though on the inside he was freaking out. “If not to see me, at least to see the kids. They miss you, Jay.”

Harley and Sadie – Jared missed them too. Misha wasn’t a fan of animals in the house, so Jared had left them with Jensen, though he regretted it every day. They were supposed to be _his_ dogs, after all. Sighing, he answered, “Yeah, okay, I’d like that. I miss them, too. Now, will you please let me leave?”

Victory! Jensen could barely keep himself from grinning like a loon. “Great. I’ll make dinner.” Seeing the warning look Jared gave him, Jensen quickly explained, “Oh, don’t worry, I know this isn’t a date. But if you’re going to work, you’re probably going to be hungry when you get to my place. The least I can do is make you dinner.” Still, Jared didn’t look pleased. But that didn’t mean Jensen was giving up. “Please? Just let me make dinner for you?”

Finally, Jared caved. “Fine,” he answered. “But don’t get any ideas into your head. This isn’t a date, Jensen. I’m only coming over to see Harley and Sadie, and then I’m leaving.” With that, Jared moved towards the door, trying to get out only to realize that it was locked. Rolling his eyes, he unlocked the door and headed back out to his booth, leaving a grinning Jensen behind. God, he’d just made what was probably the biggest mistake of his life, and he knew it. The worst thing about it was that he was looking forward to having dinner with Jensen later that night.

“I was getting worried that you’d fallen in,” Misha teased when Jared sat back down, smiling widely at the younger man. He quickly realized that something was wrong, however, the smile disappearing from his lips. “What’s wrong?” he asked, concern replacing his teasing tone. “Did something happen in there?”

Jared quickly shook his head in answer, not really wanting to get into details about it. Misha had been nice enough to extend his hand in Jared’s time of need, and he didn’t want to burden him with the details of his crazy life. “It’s nothing,” he assured Misha, tossing a few bills onto the table. “I have to get to work. I’ll be home late tonight so you don’t really have to wait up for me. I can open the door with my keys.”

He didn’t wait for Misha to respond before he was off, pushing through the door and starting towards the clinic. Every scenario that he was letting run through his head ended the same – him and Jensen in the big comfy bed that he missed so much wrapped up in each other’s arms. He didn’t want it to happen necessarily, but Jared knew that if Jensen made a move on him, there was no way he could deny the older man. Maybe he’d talk to Sophia about it – she always seemed to have the answers to everything.

**~~**

The fact that Kerr was standing beside his door with a frown on his lips didn’t bother Jensen as he pulled into his driveway, the wide smile still plastered on his lips as he climbed out of his car. Not even having to see Kerr today was going to ruin his happy mood. He was going to see Jared later, and if things went the way he planned, he was going to get him back. It was going to be perfect again – and he wasn’t going to let Kerr screw that up. Jared was closing tonight, so Jensen was figuring that he’d be here around eight o’clock, so Kerr would be gone by six o’clock, whether they were finished or not.

Seeing the smile on Jensen’s face, Kerr thought that it was for him, so he smiled back. “You’re almost an hour late,” he explained, watching as Jensen opened the door. “I was wondering if maybe you were trying to stand me up. But I guess that wasn’t the case since you’re here now with a big smile on your face. I’m happy to see you too, you know? For a while there, I was starting to wonder if you were ever going to realize how much you wanted to be with me, Jenny.”

When Kerr leaned in and tried to kiss him, Jensen pressed his hand against his chest, keeping him away. “Don’t call me that,” he warned, shaking his head as he shoved his door open. “And this isn’t a social call, Kerr. This is pure business. You requested that I work on this new addition that you’re planning for your house, so that’s what I’m doing. Don’t for a second mistake this for me wanting to be with you again because that’s _never_ going to happen.”

He allowed the door to slam closed behind him as he hung his keys on the hooks specifically for his car keys and placed his jacket on the hanger in the closet. “You ruined my life, Kerr. I would rather be single for the rest of my life than to be with you. And honestly, you’re lucky I agreed to work on this project with you. I could have refused.” Grabbing his sketch pad, Jensen moved to the table and took a seat. “Now, I have plans later tonight, so let’s cut to the chase. What kind of addition were you looking for?”

Luckily, talking about the plans didn’t really take too long, so Jensen was able to get Kerr out of his house by 5:45 PM. As soon as he was gone, Jensen started cooking, whistling softly as he moved about the kitchen. He wanted everything to be perfect for when Jared came over. After all, this wasn’t _just_ about Jared seeing the dogs. Sure, Jensen had no doubt that Jared missed them, but he could tell that Jared missed him too. 

**~~**

It was almost time for his shift to end and Jared was nervous. He couldn’t remember a time when he had been this nervous before, and it was really bothering him. Sophia hadn’t been much help when Jared asked for advice; she just told him to jump back on the horse and be with Jensen. Like he didn’t already know he wanted that?! But he couldn’t just give in, right? There was something about it that didn’t seem right. Jensen had cheated on him, and Jared couldn’t forgive him for that right away.

Of course, there was the little voice in the back of his head telling him that Jensen hadn’t actually cheated; Kerr had been taking his clothes off, but Jensen hadn’t had sex with Kerr. Then again, maybe that’s just because Jared showed up. It was all very confusing, and he couldn’t get any help deciding what he should do. That was the most frustrating part of this.

When the clock struck seven, Sophia gave Jared permission to head out, assuring him that she would clean up. He didn’t argue, instead walking the few blocks from the clinic to Jensen’s house. Because the walls were all glass, Jared could see Jensen moving in the house, causing the younger man to smile. It was so obvious that he still loved Jensen. Maybe it was time he took his own advice and remembered that what was in the past didn’t matter. What mattered was the present, and he wanted to be with Jensen more than anything.

He took a deep breath before he knocked on the door, smiling when Jensen greeted him. Jared had barely gotten into the house before Harley and Sadie were on him, knocking him onto his ass as they licked his face and pawed his hands, begging for attention. Of course, he was more than happy to give them the attention they wanted, pressing kisses to each of their heads before he pet them behind the ears, knowing they loved that.

Once the dogs had gotten their fill, Jensen moved the party to the kitchen, serving Jared food before he took a seat across from him. The conversation was kept light while they ate, both men just focusing on their dinner. Jensen was the first to break the silence. “So, does Misha know you’re here?” he asked, trying not to sound as bitter as he felt.

“He knows that I’m not coming home until later,” Jared explained with a small shrug. “That’s all he needs to know. I mean, it’s not like we’re dating, or anything. He doesn’t monitor my every move.”

Frowning, Jensen asked, “You’re not?” He thought for sure that Jared and Misha had started a relationship. From what Misha said at the restaurant, it sure sounded like they were pretty chummy. 

He almost couldn’t hold back his laughter as he shook his head. “No,” Jared assured Jensen. “I’m just crashing at his place until I can find one of my own. The last vacancy at the apartment I could afford went to Megan so she could have some privacy, so I’m living with Misha for now. But we’re just friends. Nothing else.”

Now that Jensen knew that Jared and Misha were only friends, he felt _a lot_ better about his chances of getting Jared back. “Good,” Jensen smiled giving his head a small nod as he stood, taking their dishes out to the sink and leaving them there for the time being. “Then I don’t have to feel guilty about this.” Before Jared knew what was happening, his lips were taken in a deep kiss, the younger man unable to hold back the moan that wanted to break free. 

Although he wanted to be with Jensen more than anything, Jared knew it was never going to work. Without much conviction, Jared pressed his hand against Jensen’s chest, pushing him back a little as he shook his head. “J-Jen, stop, I can’t,” he whispered, keeping his eyes locked on the ground. He knew as soon as he looked into Jensen’s eyes he was going to lose it. “You don’t love me. Not like I need you to – and that’s okay. I just…I know you still want to be with Kerr, and I’m okay with that. But I won’t be the one you go to when you can’t have him.”

It was like Jared wasn’t even listening to a word he’d said earlier when he locked him in the bathroom of the coffee shop, and it pissed him off. Gripping the younger man’s chin, Jensen forced him to look into his eyes, giving his head a small shake. “Don’t tell me how I feel, Jared,” he argued. “I _love_ you – _only_ you. I don’t give a shit about Kerr. If it were up to me, I would never have to see him again. But we’re working on something for his new addition, and I got assigned to it. That’s all it is, though – business. And when I’m done, that’s it.”

Without giving Jared a chance to respond, Jensen’s lips were on his again, mouth claiming Jared’s as his tongue pressed forward, tasting the younger man. His hands slid up Jared’s sides as the kiss continued, his fingers tracing every hard line of muscle, sending jolts of pleasure straight to his cock. “I know you want to be with me, baby. I can see it all over your face,” Jensen whispered between kisses, slowly pulling back, making sure he had a good hold on Jared so he could take him with him. “Let me love you like I used to,” Jensen mumbled into Jared’s ear, leading him towards the bedroom door.

Jared knew that he should have protested. He should have pushed Jensen away and just left the house, but he didn’t want to. The truth of the matter was that Jared wanted to be with Jensen and he wasn’t going to let anything get in his way. If Jensen said that he didn’t want Kerr, then he was willing to believe. When they reached the room, Jared kicked the door closed and allowed Jensen to start stripping him of his clothes before he tossed Jared onto the bed, blanketing his body with his own.

Both men were panting as they made love, Jensen making sure to keep his eyes on Jared the whole time to make sure his lover was enjoying himself as much as he was. Before he even knew what was happening, Jared’s back was arching and he was cumming, his inner muscles squeezing around Jensen’s cock and forcing the older man’s orgasm to rip through him as well. He grunted softly when Jared collapsed on top of him, but he didn’t make the younger man move. Instead, Jensen wrapped his arm around him and held him close, his fingers carding through Jared’s hair slowly as they both calmed down after their climaxes. “I love you, baby,” he whispered softly in Jared’s ear, smiling at his lover when Jared lifted his head so they were looking at each other.

“I love you, too,” Jared smiled up at Jensen, rolling off him but not breaking the contact they had, his head resting on Jensen’s shoulder as he closed his eyes. “Missed you so much while I was gone, babe,” he whispered softly, pressing his lips against Jensen’s shoulder. “I’m sorry – I should have listened when you were trying to explain yourself.”

Shaking his head, Jensen quickly stopped Jared from speaking by crushing their lips together. “Don’t blame yourself for this, Jay,” he scolded gently. “It was Kerr’s fault. He’s an asshole. End of story.” Relaxing for a moment, Jensen suddenly reached into the top drawer of his nightstand, pulling out a small jewelry box. “I know it’s sudden with everything that just happened, but I don’t want to wait anymore. Marry me, Jared.”

Eyes widening slightly, Jared pushed himself into a seated position, looking at the ring that Jensen was presenting him with. “Are you serious?” he asked, his smile growing when Jensen nodded and ran his fingers through his hair. “Yes, of course I’ll marry you, Jensen!” He didn’t give the other man a chance to put the ring on before he was crushing their lips together, moaning once more as Jensen’s tongue mapped out the familiar wet cavern.

Needless to say, Jared had a _very_ hard time sleeping that evening because his mind was running wild with wedding plans.

**~~**

** SIX MONTHS LATER **

“If anyone has any reason why these two should not be joined together in holy matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace,” the priest spoke, looking around the crowd to see if there was anyone with a problem. Seeing nothing, the priest smiled. “I now pronounce you husband and husband. You may kiss your husband.”

Waiting to see if anyone was going to say anything had been the worst part of this wedding. Jared had to squeeze Jensen’s hands so tightly he was surprised the older man hadn’t pulled away from him. But now that it was over, Jared smiled, biting his lip when they were given permission to kiss. He had been thinking about how they were going to kiss for about a week now, talking it over with Jensen almost every day and practicing. 

Sure, it sounded silly, but there was a certain amount of tongue Jared thought was appropriate in public and he and Jensen didn’t agree with each other on the matter, so there had been a lot of debate. Of course now it didn’t matter because Jensen was kissing him and Jared was just going with it, lips parting as he felt Jensen’s tongue tracing the seam. His smile was still plastered on his face when the kiss broke.

After the ceremony, they all attended the reception, Jensen making sure he and Jared both held the knife when the cake was cut. And then Jensen of course fed Jared a bite of his cake and vice versa. All in all, Jared and Jensen were very pleased with how well it turned out and that everyone there seemed to be happy for them, including Gerald and Alan. Other people who had showed up to the party were happy for them too; even friends Jared thought would have a heart attack at this. Mike and Danneel were there as well as Sandy and Misha. Sophia was there and both of their families. All in all, it was a nice turn out. 

When they had a moment alone, Jensen pulled Jared out of the room and away from everyone still hanging out at the reception, kissing him good and proper, tongue pushing into Jared’s mouth and mapping out the familiar wet heat. “I’ve wanted to do that since we got married,” he smiled. 

Chuckling, Jared shook his head. “Is that the only reason you brought me out here?” he asked, although he surely wasn’t complaining. He would kiss Jensen wherever and however he wanted at this moment he was so happy. They were finally married. And they were going to be happy for the rest of their lives, Jared could tell.

Jensen shrugged when Jared asked if kissing him had been the only reason he brought him out here. “Yeah, pretty much,” he answered with a small smile. “We should get back in there, I guess. You know how your sister is when she can’t find you and I. She’ll send a search party out here.” He took Jared’s hand and started to lead him back into the room. “What are you thinking about, baby?”

A small smile came to Jared’s face when Jensen asked what he was thinking about. “Nothing much,” he answered with a slight shrug. “Just trying to figure out which seems better for our honeymoon; Rome or Paris?”

The choices were both great, so Jensen merely shrugged, nipping Jared’s earlobe before he whispered in the younger man’s ear, “How about both?”

Again, Jared smiled, wider this time, dimples denting his cheeks. “Works for me,” he answered as they walked back into the room to join their guests once more.


End file.
